Arsenal and England midfielder, Jack Wilshere has asked Arsene Wenger about the possibility of him playing in a deeper midfield role for Arsenal.
Wilshere has recently impressed in the holding role for England, picking up several man of the match awards in national colours. The 22-year old was one of the stand out individuals in the 3-1 victory against Scotland at Celtic Park on Tuesday evening.
The midfielder’s performances have improved drastically since he was first deployed by England directly in front of the defence against Switzerland in September.
However, Arsenal manager, Wenger prefers to use the 22-year old in more advanced positions, where his agile skills and vision can create chances for his forward players. Wenger believes at this very minute, there is no need to fiddle with Wilshere’s position and is therefore reluctant to make a change.
‘I wouldn’t mind playing there for Arsenal,’ admitted Wilshere. ‘I’ve already spoken to the manager about it and he doesn’t see me playing that holding role just yet. That’s his decision.
‘At the moment Mikel Arteta is injured and Mathieu Flamini is playing that role. It’s down to him.
‘This is probably the best I’ve played for England and I’m enjoying it. I said after the first game against Switzerland that I’d only get better. It was my first game in that role.’
The tenacious midfielder produced a wonderful pass on Tuesday night to create the opening goal for Arsenal team mate, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in England’s resounding victory. It was his first England assist and it will give him confidence ahead of Arsenal’s crunch clash with Manchester United on Saturday tea time.
I think he has the ability to play in any midfield position, but whether he has the discipline to play exclusively defensive midfield against the top teams remains to be seen.