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TIME FOR WALCOTT AND WILSHERE TO DO THE BUSINESS

TIME FOR WALCOTT AND WILSHERE TO DO THE BUSINESS

 

Every year the same chatter follows two Arsenal players in particular. “Jack Wilshere needs a strong season,” says one pundit. “Theo Walcott must begin to deliver in front of goal,” notes another. Neither are wrong. However, on the brink of the Gunners’ 2015-16 Premier League bow, only the latter looks set to finally start answering doubters who have followed him through his career.

Walcott enters the new campaign having fully recovered from injury and in noteworthy form. He returned late last term, but grabbed a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over West Brom at the end of May, before scoring a goal in the FA Cup final win over Aston Villa.

The Englishman has remained sharp in pre-season, netting against Everton and Wolfsburg before assisting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s winner in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea. For the first time since 2012-13, Walcott genuinely looks like he could offer Arsene Wenger consistent quality up front. This is no doubt a worry for Olivier Giroud, the perennial 7/10 performer.

Wilshere also rounded off the last campaign nicely, scoring against West Brom and smashing in two scorchers during England’s 3-2 win over Slovenia. Unlike Walcott, Wilshere’s preparations for the current campaign were interrupted by yet another injury (a fracture to his right ankle). Although he has avoided surgery and will likely return within a month, the annual conversation surrounding him is already looking familiar.

Problematically for Wilshere, Wenger’s squad has adapted to life without him. This was highlighted last term with the emergence of Francis Coquelin, whose combative nature and willingness to compete for the ball added balance to the side. Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey have found rhythm alongside the Frenchman, while Alexis Sanchez’s hussle has worn off on his team-mates who now manage to combine doggedness and creativity into a sharper overall outlook.

Each of Wenger’s midfield three brings a unique speciality to the side: Coquelin is Mr. Destruction, Cazorla keeps possession ticking and Ramsey breaks between the lines to offer support. One has to question where Wilshere fits in, and more bluntly, exactly which of these roles he can make his own. Ramsey—who had his breakout season two years ago—took the vital step before Wilshere managed to.

So, alongside his consistent injury struggles, Wilshere now has a genuine fight for first-team football on his hands. His intermittent showings of quality—be it for Arsenal or England—only serve to underline the frustration. The spotlight grows more intense with every niggle, but if Arsenal fans honestly ask themselves whether or not Wilshere is close to offering a season of consistent quality, the answer should be no.

Wenger finally let the injury-plagued Abou Diaby go in the summer, a player who put in some underrated performances over the years and could have been a real star at the Emirates Stadium. He’s something of a comedy figure now—a reputation he will look to overturn at Marseille—but there’s no guaranteeing Wilshere will escape the same fate. As a talented Englishman at a top club, he is under far more pressure to get things right.

At the very earliest it seems Wilshere must wait until after the international break in September to make his mark. By this time we’ll have an excellent indication of where Walcott stands in the Gunners squad and whether he has moved into the bracket of Arsenal’s most important players. The forward’s performances will dictate exactly whether or not Wilshere becomes isolated as the patented Arsenal man who cannot reach peak fitness or form.

A crossroad approaches Wilshere at this point. The options read “Ramsey” and “Diaby.” The first question, however, is whether Wilshere will get to choose his own path.