Alexis was magnificent again on Saturday, and this is quickly becoming apparent that it will be a regular thing; the man is a machine. However, the plaudits absolutely have to go to Jack Wilshere, who put in one of his best performance In Arsenal shirt, bagging himself a sensational goal and equally brilliant assist to match his dogged display of a player coming back to his very best.
Wilshere is growing in confidence in every game he plays and it’s no secret that both Wenger, and Hodgson, see the only way for Wilshere to find his magic touch again is through regular football, evident in his appearances in every game so far for both club and country; and it’s paying dividends. We are seeing the Wilshere that burst onto the scene as a teenager.
Arsenal started the game against City in electric fashion with Wilshere and Ramsey overrunning the midfielder and seeing a lot of the ball; a lot of the good stuff was already coming from Wilshere in the early stages of the match, with a few deft touches, committed challenges, and defence opening lobs. He looks full of confidence and it’s shining through in his performances. Another thing worth noting is his quick recovery after hitting the floor; physically, Wilshere looks the best he has ever been, and it is allowing him to play his game more freely without having injuries plaguing the back of his mind.
Arsenal were struggling to find there way back into a game they’d largely dominated after going down to yet another sloppy goal. What’s happened back there?
Anyway, it was the unfairly criticised Wilshere who stepped up and silenced critics. And if Paul Scholes is still unsure of what type of player Jack Wilshere is then I don’t think punditry is, or ever was, his game. Wilshere took the mantle and ensured Arsenal got something out of game they deserved to win. His link up play in the build up the goal was typical of the footballer he is, but the presence of mind to take the extra touch past Clichy and deftly chip Joe Hart was typical of the World Class footballer he is going to be. It was a superb goal, and I think the fans are just pleased that it was the once Arsenal prodigy who turned the game around with a goal worth watching over and over again. And this is not the first time Wilshere has produced the finest of finishes to a team goal. And he didn’t stop there. He kept running and throwing his weight around, flooring Nasri wonderfully, spinning the ball past defenders and carrying the team forward. The icing on the cake that would later collapse was his quite brilliant header to find Alexis who did the rest with frightening simplicity; but we knew that anyway, that’s what we paid for. Again, it shows Wilshere’s doggish side to his game, and his natural desire to win, climbing high above everyone else, both literally and metaphorically. It was a super assist that capped off a match defining display.
Unfortunately, the game grew dark afterwards, but Wilshere’s performance provides enough light to restore some belief and positivity into Arsenal’s stuttering start to the season.
He was the undoubted Man of the Match, and Arsenal’s player of the week, and he will kick on for the rest of the season — for anyone labelling his good spells as one offs. Wilshere is always good; what we want is him to be brilliant every game.