Arsenal FC – Breath of Life (featuring Florence)
Jack Wilshere Video Score: 4 / 5
DO A CHELSEA
Last season, Chelsea became the first club from London to win the Champions League after managing to lift the competition against all the odds. Arsenal have been the only other team to have come extremely close when they reached the final of this competition in 2006. The Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has said that there is no reason why Arsenal cannot take inspiration from the success Chelsea had last season and defy all the odds to win this tournament for the first time in their history. Arsenal have been left with only the Champions league as the trophy that they can win this season.
The club has not managed to lift a single trophy in the last eight seasons, and the pressure on the manager Arsene Wenger was compounded after the shock defeat at the hands of Championship club Blackburn in the FA Cup during the weekend. Arsenal will be playing against the last season’s Champions League finalists Bayern Munich in the last 16 round of the competition. Once again Arsenal come into the match as the underdogs due to the strength in depth of the Germans. Despite being the underdogs, Wilshere is confident that Arsenal can do a Chelsea this season. Arsenal rested a number of high profile players for the match against Blackburn.
“Chelsea are an inspiration for everyone. They weren’t having a good season and, okay, they got a bit lucky in some games. But they showed great character and we need to do that. We need to come together as a team. We have good leaders here, a good team atmosphere. That will help us. We have a good bunch of lads in the dressing room. They’re winners as well, the likes of Lukas Podolski and Mikel Arteta. They want to win,” said Wilshere ahead of the match.
Wilshere does it again…
Jack Wilshere Video clip Rating: four / 5
DREAMING OF STEVIE G
The Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has revealed that he wants to be the Steven Gerrard for the club. The 32-year-old Liverpool midfielder is regarded as the heartbeat of the Liverpool team, while he has been responsible for helping them get out of several troubles over the last decade. He is also regarded as one of the best in the world. The 20-year-old Jack Wilshere has revealed that he considers Gerrard to be his inspiration so much so that he wants to be the Gerrard for Arsenal. Arsenal have been missing a driving force in the midfield since the days of Patrick Vieira.
The former midfielder Cesc Fabregas came close to replacing him, but he has since departed for Barcelona. Even though Wilshere is not in the mould as Vieira, he has managed to dominate games recently. After scoring in the 1-0 win over Swansea in the third round replay of the FA Cup, Wilshere said that he wants to dominate games and score many goals like Gerrard does for Liverpool. The England international has also compared his goal against Swansea to the one scored by Gerrard in the 2006 FA Cup final. Gerrard almost single-handedly helped Liverpool the trophy back then. Wilshere regards Gerrard as someone he looks for inspiration.
“I remember Gerrard scoring a similar goal to mine in the final against West Ham and the one in the Champions League game against Olympiakos. He is a great player, I think I’m a bit different. His long passing is better than mine. He is a great role model. He’s been the heartbeat of Liverpool for years. He has also been the stand-out performer for England as well. He is a great role model for me. If I can get anywhere near as good as him and drive the team forward like he does, then I will be happy,” said Wilshere.
Are Wilshere and Cleverley the Saviours of English Football?
Two young EPL footballers are capturing the attention of many experts and managers today. These players are Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley, playing for Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
Aside from being billed as the figureheads for both sides when the Gunners and the Red Devils meet, they are also tagged as the saviours of the English football. Wilshere, at 20-years old, has returned after last year’s 17-month injury lay-off. Mirror Online said that Wilshere will be “an Arsenal icon in the mould of Adams, Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira and will be the team’s next captain.” That is a ballsy prediction but the newspaper. (more…)
MOTD Analysis: Wilshere vs. WBA
Jack Wilshere Video clip Rating: 4 / five
WILSHERE GETTING CLOSE
The Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is getting close to reaching his full fitness according to the manager Arsene Wenger, who had the delight of seeing the England international be at his best in the 2-0 win over West Brom during the weekend. The 20-year-old has suffered a number of injuries over the past few seasons, which have meant that he has missed the last 17 months on the injury table itself. Wilshere has said that he has been playing better in each match he has been part of in recent weeks, but has singled out the performance against West Brom as his most satisfying yet.
He may not have scored the two goals against West Brom, but Wilshere was involved in a number of good things for Arsenal. It was also one of their first victories after a long time, which helped them move closer to the top four. Following the departure of players like Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, the team has relied heavily upon Jack Wilshere. His absence coupled with the injury to Abou Diaby has said that he is extremely light in midfield. Wilshere is now hoping that his return to full fitness will spark Arsenal to life and they will be able to bring an end to the trophy drought this season.
“I have got better every game. [I’m] maybe 90 per cent. I’m not sure. Every game that goes by I feel better and better fitness-wise. When I get up to 100 per cent I will really show what I can do. It’s a new experience for, my first injury. I didn’t know what to expect. I think the first few games my adrenalin got me through which is why I was so up for it. Then you start to realise it is not as simple as that and things start catching up with you,” said Wilshere.
WILSHERE IN ENGLAND TEAM
Jack Wilshere has been included in the England squad for the friendly encounter against Sweden which is going to be played on 14th of November at Stockholm. Wilshere hasn’t played any match for the England national team since the last 16 months. His last match for England was against Switzerland in June last year. He had been out of the game since a long time because of a severe foot injury. He has recently made a comeback for his club Arsenal and has played 3 matches for the Gunners. In the recently played Champions League match against Schalke, Wilshere played for full 90 minutes which is an indication that his fitness level is good at the moment.
Apart from Wilshere, the Everton midfielder Leon Osman has also been included in the squad. Osman has managed to find a place in the England squad for the first time. Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll have been left out of the team for this match. However, the manager of the England team, Roy Hodgson, said that they are just rested and they are in his plans for future.
The Sunderland Winger, Adam Johnson, has not been included in the squad because of his poor form of late and on his place Ashley Young has made a comeback after recovering from his injury. Steven Gerrard is going to lead the team. The match against Sweden is going to be Gerrard’s 100th match for England.
The England squad for the match against Sweden is as follows-
Daniel Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Aaron Lennon, Jonjo Shelvey, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young, Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard (captain), Leon Osman, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere, Wayne Rooney, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Ryan Shawcross, Carl Jenkinson, Ryan Bertrand, Steven Caulker, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker, Fraser Forster, John Ruddy, Joe HartWILSHERE IN
Jack Wilshere is Back
Jack Wilshere Video clip Score: 5 / 5
WENGER WILL NOT RUSH WILSHERE
The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told Arsenal Football News that he will not be rushing the star midfielder Jack Wilshere into the first team action. The 20-year-old recently returned to first team training after more than a year out with an ankle injury. He has suffered many setbacks during his attempts to come back to the Arsenal first team last season.
It even forced him to miss the Euro 2012. Considering the serious nature of the injury, the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is not prepared to recent and bringing him to the first-team immediately. Wenger, though, has confirmed that he will be part of the reserves team that will take on West Brom on Monday night.
Arsene Wenger was speaking ahead of the crucial match with Chelsea during the weekend. Arsenal have already proved in the matches against Manchester city and Liverpool that they have improved vastly over the previous seasons. The presence of Jack Wilshere in the midfield against Chelsea would have been the perfect combination for Arsenal, but Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the England international will not be part of the squad that faces Chelsea. Arsenal have made a good start to the season and are undefeated in the Premier league so far.
“Jack will play on Monday, he will play his first game with the under-21s, maybe an hour or something like that. It is another important step, but he has not played for 14 months so we have to calm your [the media’s] impatience a little bit. It is fantastic for him. When you are at that age and are out for such a long time, it is absolutely massive to take (for) him and (Emmanuel) Frimpong to come back and (massive) for us as well,” said Arsene Wenger ahead of the match with Chelsea during the weekend.