Jack Wilshere has been selected for the Euro Under-21 Championships this summer.This means that he gets no rest for almost 3 years. Having played his first full season in top-flight, he now is an England regular. He goes to Denmark this summer, plays for Arsenal next season, goes with England again next year for the Euro Championship and returns to Arsenal only to play another full season with them.All this is supposed to burn him out and probably waste his undoubted talent.If that’s not what Stuart Pearce or the English FA can understand, then I don’t know what will.
He’s only 19. To put such huge amounts of pressure on a 19-year-old player is something that’s just not acceptable. He’s been exceptional for Arsenal which offers top-quality football.He’s played in the Champions League,the Premier League and even for the England national team. Now Pearce wants him to gain experience at a lower level. Let me inform you, a player cannot perform to his full potential if he’s asked to play at a lower level. I remember Wenger’s comments about how Arsenal players would struggle if they had to play in the Championship rather than the Premier League. It’s not as if Jack would assert his authority in that tournament. Mentally, it might not even be good for him.
Remember there was a boy aged 16, chosen to represent his country at the World Cup. Neither did he play in that tournament, nor did he practice to improve his footballing qualities. It has taken him an eternity to realize his potential which is not yet completely fulfilled.The guy is Theo Walcott. Our own speedy forward whose progress was much affected by the extreme pressure he had to face at 16.
Run Jack Run! But Make sure you've still got legs!
I don’t know what Pearce thinks but people thinking he’s a psycho certainly aren’t wrong.From a personal point of view, I love Jack and wish him good luck. But how the hell can playing at a lower level be a good experience.He’s already played 50-odd games for us and has looked a bit jaded in recent matches. Though Wilshere might not admit himself, no vacation this summer might prove to be detrimental to his progress. I can understand the pride in playing for his country but he’s also got to look at his fitness. To be honest, I’d like Wenger to rest him at Fulham only because of the fact that his performances have dropped recently.
Jack schedule this summer is draining and expect him to miss the start of the next season and even suffer from injuries the same way Cesc Fabregas has this year. Bojan has also been called up but the fact is he’s played a fourth of the minutes Jack’s played. He’s also not a Spanish regular and he’s a case where playing in such a competition would help him. But for Jack, he’s played 4,066 minutes. That’s the equivalent of 45 full 90-minute games. At 19, he’s played like a more-mature player than most in England.
Jack’s a tough lad and probably the toughest at Arsenal. But every player has his breaking limits. And Jack’s getting closer to that mark.It’s up to England to preserve their own gem.Or else he might crack. For his sake, someone please help him!
Shubham
