On January 4th, after the league game vs Chelsea, I suggested Jack Wilshire needed to continue playing and keep increasing his levels to make his way to Russia. We are now 23 appearances, 17 starts, this season and thought I would review how his season has gone and whether he is the midfielder England need, or indeed want. This was brought on after I saw the stats for yesterday’s game:
100% (6 dribbles) Dribble Completion – one more than Hazard 93% Pass Accuracy
3 Tackles won
His last ten games read: Chelsea x3, West Ham (MoM), Newcastle, Liverpool, Palace x2, West Brom, Bournemouth (WhoScored 7.18) . Pretty average opposition generally speaking. In these games he made about 0.8 tackles, so not really a defensive midfielder. He has scored 2 goals and made 3 assist, so he is not the guy to bang them in or create.
Where Wilshire shines is in the transition from defense to attack and thus creating space. Wilshire average 3 dribbles per game puts him 3rd in the Premier League and he does this from Central Midfield. With a drop of the shoulder and a quick dribble, WIlshire consistently finds himself between the midfield and defense. He can also pass to make the most of these situations. Anyone watching him play can see he offers something a little different on the pitch. Its no coincidence that Arsenal have struggled without Cazorla but as Wilshire gets back to fitness, we finally have someone back in the team that can weave his way through a tight defensive position.
The question is, do England want/need a player like this? The most recent F365 ladder had Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Harry Winks, Ruben Loftus Cheek and the Ox in the top 30 as midfielders. Of those players, I would argue that Ali, Wilshire and the Ox are players that can perform the role of transition from defense to attack from midfield and I would take all 3 as they are game changers.
Does Gareth want him though? Are we even going to play 3 in the middle? He isn’t the best midfielder in the world but I know if I was Gareth, I would know he is a consistent performer on an international stage and, if fit, he would be up on my WC ladder. We will see