A three month long injury to Santi Cazorla has seen some Arsenal fans call for Arsene Wenger to recall Jack Wilshere from his loan spell at Bournemouth.
The Gunners still have plenty of midfield options, but arguably Wilshere is the best midfielder to replace Cazorla in that he is good in possession, agile and great at linking the midfield and attack, with experience from playing in a deep role.
Since making his loan move to Bournemouth, Wilshere has got better each week and is proving his fitness. It may seem stupid for Arsenal to cut this short, especially if there are no plans for him to go straight into the starting eleven, he needs to play each week.
Despite the injury to Cazorla, it doesn’t look like Arsenal will opt to activate a recall option. This is what has been said by Goal and The Times:
Arsenal will not recall Jack Wilshere from Bournemouth despite the injury sustained by Santi Cazorla, according to The Times.
Cazorla is set to undergo surgery after injuring his Achilles during a Champions League match against Ludogorets in October and the Spain international could miss up to three months.
However, Arsene Wenger will not invoke emergency rules to bring Wilshere back into the fold, instead allowing him to see out his loan deal at Dean Court.
I’d agree that at this stage that is probably the right call. There’s still Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin and Mohammed Elneny fighting for those two deeper central midfield roles. Four players for two positions is enough. Ramsey just needs to only be played in his favoured central role – and then that, if anything, leaves us short on the wings.
At 24 Wilshere needs a season to find himself and prove himself and the loan deal at Bournemouth is going very well, and he’s under good management with Eddie Howe. Unless it is necessary, I wouldn’t like to disturb that.
Danny Welbeck is due to return soon though and Lucas Perez can also play wide. Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both need to step up, whilst Walcott could do with re-discovering his form from the start of the season.
I think should Ramsey or Xhaka also occur a serious injury in the next couple of months then Wenger’s mind would change – and rightly so. It was December a few years ago when Arsenal were forced to recall Coquelin and when he returned he earned his place in the starting eleven and hasn’t really left the team since. Wilshere is a better footballer than Coquelin in my opinion so there’s every chance he could do the same.
I hope that we don’t have any more injuries and Wilshere continues his progression at Bournemouth, coming back into the frame next season and getting a place in the eleven, as I have a feeling Ramsey may be on his way…
Where do you see the future of Wilshere?