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Wilshere puzzle's got one space to fit into Arsenal jigsaw

On one side of North London, a player is welcomed with chants of "He's one of our own". Needless ...



Wilshere puzzle's got one...
Soccer

Wilshere puzzle's got one space to fit into Arsenal jigsaw

On one side of North London, a player is welcomed with chants of "He's one of our own".

Needless to say, I'm referring to English football's current golden child Harry Kane. 

But on the Red side of the North London divide, another player might have held a similar status among his club's fans and the wider Premier League.

Alas, Jack Wilshere is still a footballer who is still spoken of in terms of his potential rather than any major achievements on the pitch.

Of course, injuries - particularly to his ankles - are the main cause of that, but his long and regular absences and some scrutiny over his off-field actions, have wiped away some of the lustre around his name.

It's got to a point where there have been a few musings about whether Arsenal might not be better off parting with him in exchange for a major cash injection from the likes of Manchester City (two of the club's English players, Joe Hart and James Milner, were present when Wilshere was pictured smoking in a Las Vegas pool while on holidays last summer). 

But he is just 23 and as an Arsenal academy graduate, you would like to think that Arsene Wenger will show some patience.

But now that he is in line for a return to the matchday squad as Arsenal look to cement their Top Four credentials with a positive result at home to Liverpool tomorrow, the more immediate question is where he fits in tactically.

From an immediate point of view, it's hard to see him getting a regular starting place for an in-form side in which key players are finding their groove.

Francis Coquelin's emergence means the defensive midfield role is filled and anyway, Wilshere is not a natural in that role. Tenacious though he might be, because he likes to drive forward and dribble from deep, he would need to curb some of his other better qualities to increase defensive discipline.

Indeed, Arsene Wenger has already stated that Wilshere is wasted in the defensive midfield role he was selected for during his last pre-injury England appearances - even though he did okay in that position and wanted to try it out at Arsenal.

The Paddy McNair tackle which caused the injury to his ankle (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

And even though he wears the No 10 shirt at the club, the main attacking midfield role does not seem to be his best position, so he is not going to play behind the striker, where Mesut Ozil is starting to impose himself and where Santi Cazorla can occasionally fill in.

That leaves just one viable place and that is in the deeper central midfield position which Cazorla has found a second wind as a deep-lying playmaker and where Aaron Ramsey can also slot in when it requires more box-to-box qualities and goalscoring prowess.

The latter is a role, Wilshere can take up, given his ability to combine and drive forwards from deep. But given the way that Cazorla is playing, it's hard to see the Englishman jumping the queue.

However, given his injury problems, it might be worth his while biding his time and rebuilding his match fitness and robustness, before stating his case for inclusion in Wenger's plans next season. 

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