Perhaps no footballing country in the world hypes up their own young players quite like England. Whether it is their media or fans, they love to see one of their own rise through the ranks from a young age and burst onto the scene. Which is fine, it’s great that they take such an interest in their own homegrown talent and urge them on to do well.
Sadly however, oftentimes the hype is so much bigger than the end product. Classic examples of this include a young Theo Walcott being selected for England’s 2006 World Cup squad at the tender age of 17. He had made 13 appearances in senior football to that point, and none in the Premier League.
The build up and pressure to succeed was so much it was unfair, and to date Walcott has arguably failed to live up to the billing for a variety of reasons, including injury and being played out of position at his club Arsenal — It is also true that, at 26, we may finally be about to see the best of Walcott as he ended his club season strongly. Other recent examples of this include Raheem Sterling and Scott Sinclair — Ironically Sinclair is a cautionary tale as to how Sterling’s career could ultimately go if and when he leaves Liverpool.
In recent times however, never has there been hype quite like there was on a young Jack Wilshere. He made his first team debut — also for Arsenal –at 16 years of age, and from that moment on was seen as the heir apparent to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the heart of the three lion’s midfield.
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His all action style of play and ability to beat his man had countless people predicting he would be the next great England player. All before he was legally allowed to drive. Which made what happened next unsurprising to say the least.
There were the eye catching displays against Barcelona in the Champions League, as well as some equally impressive shifts domestically with Arsenal. From there however, things took a turn for the worse, although this was not all his own doing. Like Walcott — and a worrying number of Arsenal players really — injuries began to derail what had once looked to be a promising career that may eventually rise to the heights so many had predicted from such a tender age.
What made it harder for Wilshere at this time however, was how much importance his club also put on him. This was a period when Arsenal were a selling club, routinely shedding themselves of their best players — Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Robin van Persie — in order to pay off the debt acquired from building their new home, The Emirates Stadium. Wilshere had risen through the youth ranks and was supposed to spearhead the London club’s revival on the pitch.
Holding midfield? Top of the diamond? Where would you play Jack Wilshere for England? http://t.co/93qcSYjK1F pic.twitter.com/MyREnNyJ4D
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 16, 2015
In the last two seasons, that revival has finally begun to take place, with the club winning back to back F.A. Cups to make them the most successful outfit in the history of the competition. The problem however? Wilshere has become the forgotten man. Unsurprisingly injuries have held him back, but these days Arsenal fans don’t clamour for his return and inclusion in the starting 11 like they would have as recently as three years ago.
An influx of foreign talent in his position — Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil — as well as young players who have largely taken their opportunities when presented with the chance — Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain — mean Wilshere is firmly on the outside looking in these days. It’s not the way he would have envisioned his career going, he is only 23 after all, but it’s hard to take out any of the players mentioned to give him a decent run of games.
Pain in the Arsenal
Then something like last Sunday happens, and it makes Wilshere’s career all the more frustrating to watch. You see for all the bad publicity he has received, including being caught smoking and being heard leading Arsenal fans in anti-Tottenham Hotspur chants after winning the F.A. Cup, the guy does have talent. Quite a lot of it in fact, and it was on full display as England came from behind to beat Slovenia in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier.
Wilshere scored his first two goals for his country in an entertaining 3-2 encounter that helped preserve England’s unbeaten run in qualification. He had a super game and was at the heart of all that was good about their attacking performance that day. His breakout game had been coming as well, as the previous week he was one of the few players who did much of anything in a boring 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland.
Small in stature but large in heart, in both games he at least tried to make things happen. The Slovenia game at least, gave us a serious end product too. But this is why we need to be cautious, we have kind of been here before after all, albeit in Arsenal colours. You see this is the cycle of Wlishere. He will have some great games, before getting injured for some time.
He’ll return and take a while to find his feet, watching as games pass him by. Then he’ll have those really great games, only to be injured once more. That is a snapshot of how his career has gone to date, and it is hugely annoying both to fans of Arsenal and also England. As of right now Wilshere’s got to feel great, he’s heading into a summer break fully fit and will be ready to go for next season. This will be important, with the likes of Sanchez playing in the Copa America and needing additional time off.
But you feel the next disaster is only around the corner. It’s annoying because we know how good he can be when he’s fully fit and has a run of games under his belt. Sadly those instances have been few and far between and until that changes, Wilshere will fall into the category of nearly men for club and country. Can he break the cycle and push on to greater heights next season?