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Wilshere’s England strikes highlight attacking potential

By on June 14, 2015

It’s become a cliche that injuries and Jack Wilshere go hand-in-hand. First it was his left hamstring then his right ankle, which he has injured on seven separate occasions over a seven-year career. His left ankle isn’t much better and knee injuries have also plagued his still-young career. Arsenal have played over 275 games since Wilshere debuted and he’s been player for the majority of that period, yet injuries have kept him from featuring in more than a hundred club matches.

In part, that may be why we only witnessed Wilshere’s first international goal today — and then the second just sixteen minutes later. Wilshere’s technical ability is unquestioned, supplemented by tactical savvy and vision, but with two arrowed left-footed strikes he emphasized the goal-scoring potential in his game.

Wilshere broke onto the scene as the epitome of Arsenal’s attacking midfielder model and had the technical skills to tuck right into the lineup. But he has also had a bit of bite about him, and more recently has been pinned in central or even defensive midfield roles. In a Xavi-esque position (and with a Xavi-esque stature), Wilshere can distribute the ball without the physical attributes and shot to be a game-changer further up the pitch.

But then we saw two bullets off his left boot in England’s 2-3 away win over Slovenia today, which appeared out of the blue. In his seven years at the top, why are we only seeing them now? Injuries have obviously hampered his development and Wilshere, for all his talents, is not a markedly different player than the sixteen-year-old Arsenal debutant.

But his newfound boot is not a game-changer as much a reminder of the what-ifs regarding his potential. It’s the very fact that he debuted last decade but is still discussed in terms of “potential” that is disheartening. The obvious question begs, would we have discovered this talent sooner if Wilshere hadn’t been injured? He very may well be one for the next generation but that’s what was said when he was sixteen, too.  Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge were discovered even later and are already established internationals and club performers. Big stars never stop evolving but increasingly are well-known quantities at the age of twenty-three.

In a Euro-qualifying campaign acutely lacking in suspense, today’s match and Wilshire’s strikes certainly offered fans something to dream about.  Perhaps England and Arsenal still have more to learn about Wilshire’s talent, we still don’t know everything he can offer on the pitch.

Photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald on Flickr

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.