Wilshere

6th August 2015: Wilshere woe as he cracks left fibula

Posted on by TremendArse

Poor Jack. Just as he thought he’d completed pre season free from injury and nearing peak condition – BANG – he’s ruled out for another sustained period, with what the club today confirmed as being a hairline crack to his left fibula.

It’s clearly a massive set-back for the club, but the player himself must be even more devastated given how he’s suffered so many injuries in his relatively short career so far.

Arsene Wenger, who had said over the weekend that the injury would only side-line Wilshere for a ‘matter of days’, revealed his shock at it’s now confirmed severity, saying:

I had a bad surprise because it is a hairline crack in his fibula that makes him a few weeks out. There is minimal damage apart from the bone damage – there is no damage at all apart from that. It was a collision in training and it was all completely accidental.

A fibula bone (shown in red)

Now obviously I didn’t see the collision but a general point on Jack is that as much as I’m sure we all love his determination in challenges and accept that it’s a representation of his steely character, I can’t help but feel he could learn a little about injury avoidance from somebody like his former England colleague Frank Lampard.

Although I think there’s nothing he could pick up footballistically from studying the former Chelsea man – apart from maybe how to score so many deflected goals or put away penalties – he could look at how Lampard managed to break that consecutive appearances record by being a bit more intelligent and selective in his tackles/collisions etc.

Anyway, we can take some heart I suppose, from the fact Arsene says there is ‘minimal damage’ besides to the bone itself which, having had a quick look online, suggests no tissue damage which should mean a more rapid recovery.

In terms of the impact on the squad, we have one less option in central midfield and the three attacking roles behind the striker, yet we still look comfortably stocked to cover for his absence.

That said, for me anyway, it’s a stark reminder of how fragile a footballer can be, and although Jack’s qualities can be replicated by others in the squad, the same cannot be said of Francis Coquelin, so a purchase in his position may now become a priority if it wasn’t already.

Elsewhere, Arsene had injury updates on other members of the squad today, revealing Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky were on ‘progressive recoveries’. A bit ambiguous there from the boss, but I suppose he has to be cautious with putting time-frames on returns to full fitness, particularly given Wilshere’s amended prognosis.

Plus for all the advances in medicine, it’s worth considering that even the best doctors in the world still, relatively speaking of course, know very little about the human body, and hence recovery.

If only we could bottle Alexis Sanchez’s powers of physical endurance because despite only returning to training with the team this week, the Chilean wasn’t completely ruled out from playing in the Premier League opener against West Ham on Sunday by Arsene:

Alexis is back in training but I don’t think he will be involved on Sunday, it is a bit early maybe. We have to decide that at the end of the week, but I don’t think he will be involved.

Speaking to the official site, the boss also explained how he was far from surprised at seeing pictures emerge over recent weeks of Sanchez training whilst still technically on his summer break:

Alex without running around is not Alex, you know. You can’t imagine him lying on the beach somewhere and not moving! He came back in good fitness shape so that is quite positive, but I am not surprised by that because I can’t imagine him lying around for four weeks and doing nothing. That wouldn’t be him.

Nope. That’d be more like me. In fact, I’m due a little rest up, with maybe a small, savoury snack or two.

Laters.

29th July 2015: What to do with Wilshere?

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. It’s a bit scarce out there in terms of Arsenal news today, so I’m afraid I’ll have to keep this as short as Jose Mourinho’s memory when it comes to spending money.

But speaking of recollection, can anyone remember the last time a player was one of the first names on England’s team-sheet, yet not guaranteed a starting spot at club level? Because I’m struggling to think of one.

Yet having rounded off last season with a stunning two-goal showing for the national team, a little while after starting the FA Cup Final from the bench for Arsenal, that is exactly the position Jack Wilshere finds himself in.

Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla ended last season as indisputably first-pick for the two central midfield positions and whilst Aaron Ramsey has publicly stated that he prefers the central role, and has been afforded all his pre-season game-time there, Arsene Wenger says he sees Wilshere in a more advanced ‘creative’ role, despite the England management trying to develop him in a deeper Andrea Pirlo-esque position at the base of their midfield.

I suppose in one sense, it’s a compliment to Wilshere’s array of outstanding attributes that at 23, he’s still considered a Jack of all-trades when it comes to midfield play. But if he’s to find consistency in his game and take his level up a notch or two, he – and his managers – will need to figure out what position makes the most of his abilities.

Jack at our FA Cup parade

For instance, is he predominantly a tempo-dictater, spraying passes from deep and keeping his side’s game ticking over? Or is he an all-action number eight, who can track, tackle, pass, dribble, drive his team forward single-handedly and regularly contribute goals and assists? Or, is he a wide player, with the freedom to drift infield as one third of a fluid, attacking triumvirate supporting a lone front man, as he’s been for us in recent times from the right?

I think the answer is he can almost perform all three roles equally as impressively, which is partly why he finds himself in this positional limbo. But in terms of his prospects of a starting place in this Arsenal team, the question becomes can he perform any of the roles better than their current incumbents?

It’s a dilemma Arsene will have to confront sooner or later and although a season is long and football is increasingly a squad sport with so many fixtures crammed into a single campaign, for the biggest games, the ones every top player lives for, he’ll have some tough choices to make – as he did for May’s FA Cup final in fairness.

My concern is that I just can’t imagine Wilshere accepting not being an automatic, first choice selection for too much longer if he manages to stay fully fit for a sustained period. And that’s not to say I’d drop Santi, Francis or Aaron for him, or indeed Mesut, Alexis or the Ox for that matter, but we do have an overload of talent in the middle of the park and something, someone, will eventually have to give.

Anyway, one thing Arsene certainly isn’t in any doubt about, is Wilshere’s overall footballing quality. Speaking to the official site, the manager said:

He’s a top-class player with a top-class potential. No matter how good you are in life, you need to have a consistent presence at the top. Today, what top-level sport doesn’t suffer is to be in and out because it’s too demanding physically [to stay in]. What you wish for Jack is that he can compete now for six months without any problem, or for a year without any problem, and then you will see the player we all know he is.

And of course, even before considering where to play him, the main thing from Arsene’s perspective regarding Jack is the midfielder being fully fit, something he’s only managed intermittently so far in his career.

Moving on and the club have confirmed Wojciech Szczęsny is moving on, albeit temporarily, joining AS Roma on a season-long loan as expected.

A season in the Serie A sun should provide the Pole with regular first-team football and give him an opportunity to either convince Arsene he deserves another shot at being our number one stopper, or failing that, to secure himself a permanent move to the Italian capital, if not another top-tier club. Best of luck Wojciech!

And finally for today, Joel Campbell is reportedly being eyed by Palermo. Personally, I would agree to the move but only under the proviso that they let us have first dibs on the next south American gem they unearth. Because in recent years, they’ve introduced the likes of Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore and Paulo Dybala to the European game.

Either that, or we poach their south American scout, as ours only seems to notice the Samuel Galindos and Pedro Botelhos of that continent.

See you on Thursday.

19th July 2015: Asia Trophy reaction and Aubameyang

Posted on by TremendArse

Sunday greetings. With little else in terms of Arsenal chat today, I’m going to dive straight into yesterday’s post-match reaction like Ashley Young at the peak of his hornswoggling, penalty-area powers.

Steam in like Ryan Shawcross at his ‘committed’, ‘not a malicious bone in his body’, ‘not that type of player’, ‘I’m the real victim here’, Franco Baresi-esque best. Cut to the chase like Louis van Gaal telling Robin van Persie his new role at Man United. Get to the point like Raheem Sterling’s agent in contract negotiations with Liverpool…

And I’ll start with manager Arsene Wenger who speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, permeated his pleasure in seeing his players tune into the pass-and-move wavelength that defines his footballing philosophy, and putting that into practice, both individually and collectively, in beating Everton to lift the Premier League Asia Trophy. The boss again also took time to praise the tournament’s host nation and revealed his relief at rounding off the tour without picking up any injuries.

He said:

What you want to do in preparation is to find the quality of your team play back as quickly as possible, and I think that tonight for long periods we played with real quality. It’s very satisfying and it looks like everybody shares the way we see the game. We created many chances and the individual performances over the last two games were all good. [The Singapore trip has been] perfect for us because we came here with 27 players and we go home without any injuries. We won our games in a convincing way and I must say that the facilities, the welcome from people, the huge support we have here was all perfect.

Next up is Jack Wilshere, who enthused over the players’ conditioning in what he felt was a tough game against Premier League opposition, explained the team’s desire to dominate possession and talked tailored training plans. He told Arsenal Player:

I thought we looked really fit today, as we did against the Singapore Select XI. It was a different test – Everton started well. They liked to keep the ball, so we didn’t really want to give the ball away and, if we did, we wanted to win it back straight away. We did that brilliantly. They started to tire in the second half and our fitness levels really showed through. I’m feeling good. I’ve been back in training for two weeks now. I’ve played two games and there are another two games coming up next weekend after another tough week of training, so I’m feeling good. I think you feel better day by day. The fitness staff here are really good. They make the sessions individualised, so they know what you need in your position. Each session gets harder and harder. I’m feeling better and better and hopefully that can continue.

Meanwhile Petr Cech reflected on a memorable first outing in Arsenal colours, expressed his delight at a ‘trophy-winning’ start to his career at the club, pointed out that the main goal of the tour was to improve fitness and tellingly, provided an insight into the winning mindset he brings to our squad by highlighting the need for victories even when not at 100 percent physically.

He told Arsenal Player:

It’s great to win a game. The main importance was to get fit and to play well, to get ready for the Premier League and the early competitions. It was the first game for me and the first game for some other lads, but I really enjoyed the team effort we put in and in the end we had a very good game. I’m very pleased because the first game is very important and I obviously wanted to have a successful debut. I’m happy – my first game and my first trophy. If it can continue like this I will be delighted. It’s been a great week because we’ve been working hard. We had two very positive games, and we can go back home to London happy and glad with what we achieved here. The main target was to get fit and it’s important that even when you are tired you win games. Everything has been great but [the most memorable moment was] probably my debut. When you play your first game, everybody has a big expectation and you win a game, [so] it is something to always remember.

And finally for today, Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke (no relation to Julian) has gone on record to say striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was their top-scorer last season with 25 goals in all competitions, including 16 in 33 Bundesliga games, is not for sale. He told German publication Bild:

Aubameyang stays with us this season. He’s not for sale.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is all about the pace

Which sounds pretty adamant, although this comes after RevierSport reported that the player himself wouldn’t be against a move to either Arsenal or Paris St. Germain just a few days ago. My take is that if there is any genuine interest on our part in the player, it’s only as a contingency in the event we can’t agree a new contract for Theo Walcott because the Gabon international is a similar player – very quick and efficient in front of goal.

Even then though, I’d be skeptical, a bit like I am with the Alexandre Lacazette rumours, as I’m not convinced they’re better players than we already have. Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani or a re-positioned Julian Draxler on the other hand…

Back tomorrow.