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Why a successful World Cup is crucial for Jack Wilshere

By on May 28, 2014

Four years ago Jack Wilshere was an eighteen-year-old just breaking onto the scene of English football. To be more accurate, exploding, onto the scene. At a time when English midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard were near their primes, the country was desperate not only for a future replacement for their two aging legends, but a potential savior to lift them up from what they considered a disappointing Quarterfinal exit in the 2006 World Cup.  They turned to Wilshere.

Not only did Wilshere have incredible vision and passing, but he could also easily fit in as a winger, central midfielder, and defensive midfielder.  Most importantly, even as a teenager Wilshere was a born leader. Having risen through the Arsenal youth ranks, always playing a year above his age group, Wilshere was described to have “Spanish technique, but an English heart”, by The Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger.  Of course, the English media and fans went crazy. They believed this one midfielder might win them the World Cup in 2014.  It was far too much to ask of any player, but it wasn’t as if Wilshere was England’s Freddy Adu, dubbed America’s Pele at age fourteen, yet an unwanted free-agent a decade on; England’s savior was bursting with legitimate talent.

Having finished a short loan spell with Bolton Wanderers, Wilshere had proven his talent to Wenger, and the world – Bolton’s request to extend the loan was denied by Arsenal.  It was the start of the 2010/2011 season, and Wilshere was still a teenager, but Wenger trusted the youngster so much so that his debut in Arsenal’s starting eleven came against Liverpool, Arsenal’s rivals for a Champions League position.  Wilshere started again the next week against Blackpool, and even started in Arsenal’s first Champions League match of the season.  By the end of September 2010, Wilshere had earned himself the Arsenal Player of the Month award.

The English international established himself as a reliable starter, and after scoring his first senior goal in Arsenal colors with a cheeky chip against Shakhtar Donestk in early October, was rewarded with a new long term contract.  Soon after, an incredible showing against Barcelona sent the media into a Wilshere frenzy.  The youngster was dubbed as “a beacon of hope, a shining light for a dismal England team flailing around aimlessly in the dark”, a “rarity in English football”, and English pundits were already speculating that their new star would surpass the likes of Barcelona greats Xavi & Iniesta in no time.  More than one newspaper, and much of England, made clear their views that Arsenal and the English national team would both be built around Wilshere. By the end of the season, Wilshere was voted PFA Young Player of the Year, a midfielder in the PFA Team of the Year, and Arsenal’s Player of the Year, a title he won ahead of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, and Samir Nasri.

Soon though, disaster struck.  In the summer of 2011, Wilshere suffered an ankle injury in a friendly against the New York Red Bulls.  He underwent successful surgery, but would be sidelined for the next five months all the same. However, the extent of the injury was played down and England fans still viewed Wilshere as their savior.  But perhaps even Wilshere was not aware of the consequences the injury could have on his career, as in January of 2012, he was rushed back into the Arsenal side too quickly and suffered a recurrence of the injury.  The outcome was grim; Wilshere failed to make a single appearance for Arsenal the entire season.

Wilshere finally made his first appearance for Arsenal for over a year in October 2012, but it was clear he was not the same.  The consequences of the injury were not yet over.  Thus, Wilshere featured in just twenty-five league games in the 2013/2013 season, many as a substitute.  And when the season was over, he had to undergo yet another minor surgery. Wilshere might have been game-fit, but he was not at his best.

Slowly, though, he worked his way back to his former self over the 2013/2014 season.  And when he made his first appearance for England in over two years, with a win over Brazil, Wilshere was heavily praised for his outstanding performance.  He even took part in helping Arsenal seal their first trophy in nearly a decade, coming on a a substitute in the team’s 3-2 exta-time win over Hull City.

Yet what Wilshere has yet to regain was the hype surrounding him. That one “always-injured” player, is having trouble restoring the full backing of English fans, reluctant as they are to place all their hope back on a player who very may well be out for a year the next day. Although he wasn’t even a certain in England’s World Cup squad for this summer’s tournament in Brazil, Wilshere has gotten the call. It will be a new chance for him, still at the young age of twenty-two, to prove himself to be England’s next legend. With a successful tournament, a run to the Quarterfinals or Semifinals, which Wilshere helps orchestrate, he will be viewed as his former self again. With a poor run, the blame will partly lie on him, and he could be viewed as the always-injured and never match-fit Wilshere, an image that has already proven hard to shake.

I think a good World Cup can erase a lot of doubts,” Wilshere told The Guardian. “It is about the team and, if the side has a good World Cup, you are going to look good as a player. It’s up to the manager if I play but I’d like to think if I’m on the pitch I’ll have a successful World Cup: having an impact, playing well and keeping the ball. If someone had told me four years ago I would be going to a World Cup now, I would have been happy with 15 caps and this chance. To have played only that number of games is disappointing but I have to look to the future and hopefully I can contribute.” – Wilshere on the World Cup

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.