Is Jack Wilshere worth all the hype?

When Jack Wilshere first broke onto the scene and came through Arsenal’s youth academy, many predicted that he would be the Messiah and the savior of English football. Whilst that was certainly premature, what wasn’t, was the player himself, who, when he made his first team debut in 2008, became Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant aged just 16 years and 256 days.

Wilshere impressed, right from day one and has since gone onto win plenty of accolades including the PFA Young Player of the Year award and being voted by the Arsenal’s fans as their Arsenal’s Player of the Season in just his first full campaign for the gunners during the 2010–11 season. Whilst all of which is no more than what he deserved, his performances over the past couple of seasons hasn’t really merited all the hype.

Wilshere came into the Arsenal lineup, as a player known for his movement, vision and passing. He was once fondly described by Arsène Wenger as having “Spanish technique, but an English heart”. Very early on, in his career, Steven Gerrard, a player who doesn’t mince his words too much said that “Wilshere’s got the potential to become one of the best in the world.”

The Liverpool midfielder admitted that Wilshere is a jack of all trades and said “He’s got a bit of everything, he can tackle, get up and down the pitch, create a goal, score a goal, can pass. He can tick almost every box, and he’s going to get better and better. He’s only 21 and a fantastic talent.”

With praise coming from such high quarters, one would have forgiven Wilshere for having taken his foot off the gas. And whilst Wilshere has the versatility to play in a number of positions including attacking midfielder, a winger or as a deep-lying central midfielder, his best position is, in Wenger’s words: “a box-to-box player, more than just a holding midfielder.”

And whilst Wilshere’s style of play has frequently been compared to that of Arsenal legend Liam Brady, his goal tally isn’t nearly enough to warrant that position. The goal against West Brom was only his sixth Arsenal goal in 107 appearances in all competitions, and only his second in the league in 68 games for the Gunners.

In fact, the goal was the first time he has scored in the league for the north London club since he got the fourth in a 4-2 win at Villa Park in November 2010, close to three years ago.

And whilst Brady himself sees him as one of England’s most technically gifted players of recent times, his performances don’t quite bear that out just yet. Whilst it is true that he has been injured for a good part of the past two seasons, Wilshere came into this season as a player, having to prove it all over again. Because, amidst all the hoopla surrounding the arrival of Mesut Özil, Wilshere was almost forgotten. Ramsey’s great form and Wenger’s preference for the Spaniard Santi Cazorla, when he is fit, means that, a player around whom a side was supposedly going to be built a few years ago, is now a player, who is now on the fringes of the very same side.

Although Arsène Wenger spoke of how Wilshere was prepared to “sacrifice himself for the team”, one couldn’t help but wonder if he hasn’t quite lived up to his billing just yet and for all the hype he has attracted, he hasn’t be done too much to merit it. After all, if he had, then he would have been one of the first names on the team sheets and not one on the periphery who is only required to fill in for an injured colleague.

Maybe, it is all just a matter of confidence and once he get a run of games under his belt, he might very well shine. And as he showed in the game against the baggies, from the moment he scored, he looked like a completely different player. He oozed confidence and went from becoming a liability to a leader on the pitch.

And perhaps this is precisely the reason why he has been tipped by Arsène Wenger as a future captain of both Arsenal and England. Wilshere certainly looks like the sort of player, who would be ready to lead his side into battle and has always got going when the going gets tough.

If Wilshere can just knuckle down and put his foot on the gas, there aren’t too many better footballers to watch.

And maybe, just maybe, if he gets his confidence back, he might fulfill all the hype. And even if he doesn’t, he will at least not be a complete failure. Only time will tell if Wilshere is the Messiah that everyone has been clamoring for, or is just another player. But, one thing is for sure, Wilshere has to prove himself all over again and that will certainly define him both as a player, and as a person.