"Just look at him go, A Boy doing a man's work" These were one of the few comments made by the commentators for Jack Wilshere during the enthralling battle between two footballing giant's, Arsenal and Barcelona, when they met in the UEFA Champions League last 16 encounter last week.
I am sure when we were little kids, we all had dreams that we wished to fulfill some day. Some do. And some don't. But this guy has fulfilled his boyhood dreams as a nineteen year old only. For people at Arsenal, their biggest achievement in recent times has been the wish of a nine year old to join Arsenal Academy in 2001, coming true. Wilshere has actually built his career by going through each and every layer of the world famous Arsenal youth system, which has given the world one of the biggest stars that they would have ever seen. And if I could name few, I would say Fabregas, Ashley Cole, Ray Parlour and most recently Bendtner and Wilshere.
Being at Arsenal, Wilshere has actually risen through the ranks playing for Under-16 and Under-18 sides. In 2008, after seeing his scintillating form in the youth squad at the age of 16, he was promoted to the Arsenal reserve squad for the 2008-09 season. He was selected for the pre-season friendly and that was the time people actually got to know who Wilshere was. He made his first team debut against Barnet as a half-time substitute for Henri Lansbury, setting up a goal for Jay Simpson. This was the season his hard work was paid off when Wenger awarded Wilshere with the first team spot and the number 19. And then he went on to become the youngest ever player to debut for Arsenal at 16 years 256 days, which was previously held by Fabregas. This was also the season he made his debut in UEFA champions league. And I would like to emphasize all this was happening at the age of only 16.
During the 2009-10 season he was loaned out to Bolton to give some first team experience, where he performed extremely well for which Bolton actually tried to sign him but this effort went in vain as by then Arsenal knew what they had in hand. And I take the liberty to say that Wilshere has actually made his mark in world football this season, by not only starting regularly in Premier League and Champions League but also making assists, scoring important goals and being a crowd favourite even though he is considered bit hot on temper. He has also been awarded 'Arsenal Player of the Month' for Sep- 2010. And the story doesn't end there; his form for Arsenal hasn't gone unnoticed and he was called up by Capello for his debut for England senior team for a friendly match in August 2010 against Hungary.
Standing at 5 ft 7 in height, no one can say in first sight that this guy today holds all the trump cards for all Arsenals mid-field plays. If you talk about Arsenal to any follower of the great club, the first few names they would mention are Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Arshavin but for me Arsenal's major reason for theie awesome form in Premier League and Champions League has been the coming off age of Wilshere. Prior to last night's match, during the press conference, he was asked "after the thrashing last year by Barcelona how different is your team today" - all he said was "We are different this time". Who knew he was trying to say we have Wilshere this time!
Playing along with stars like Fabregas, Persie, Arshavin, Nasri, Clichy, Song is in itself a challenge and Wilshere has not disappointed anyone. When Viera was playing for Arsenal he was the king of midfield controlling the flow of the game at his own wish attacking when he wanted and to be a rock when someone else attacked that was the time they gunned down every club in the world. But when he left, he left a huge gap between strikers and defenders and for the Boy at this young age only is known in the world as Jack Hammer, Super Tactician, Mastermind, which he actually means that he the person with these abilities. And if The Magician Wenger has one task in hand I am sure that would be to make this diamond shine more than ever.
For me Wilshere is the boy who is going to do wonders if moulded in the right way. He is a great tactician, tackler and a boy with great vision and known for his movement and combination play. More recently, Owen Coyle, manager of Bolton during Wilshere's loan spell, praised his ability to "tackle and take a knock". And he is an asset for Arsenal as he can play at any position in the midfield. He surely is the man for the future.
I agree to a very powerful quote that is always associated with Arsenal and I also end my article with that:
"WE DON'T BUY GREAT PLAYERS WE MAKE THEM"
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a guest
said:
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... Jack Wilshire is the man of the hour.. No more a boy..  He has been doing great and controlling Arsenal's midfield to win them matches.. I just want to make a point here, how could you even think of putting in Bendtner's name in there? that too along with the likes of fabregas and wilshire.. |
a guest
said:
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... Dear Srijan, Feel proud to see and read your excellent article little boy. Go ahead, you will have a reputation in this sphere. Blessings always!! |
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