He’s a canny old so and so that Monsieur Wenger. After the Frenchman delved deep into the memory banks to pull out such a memorable gem of a comment this weekend stating ‘They (the Stoke fans) have a relationship with me, but I don’t have one with them’ the Arsenal manager has irked the overtures of Team GB boss Stuart Pearce by stating midfielder Jack Wilshere might not be fit even for the start of the next Premier League campaign. It has been a disappointing season of toil and struggle for the 20-year-old who hasn’t been able to build on his burgeoning reputation after suffering a recurring stress fracture, following a sparkling full debut campaign.
Whilst Wenger knows the state of his players more than most, you just can’t help the sense that he is building up the situation simply for the good of his team next time out. And who can blame him? Wenger has had a previous number of run in’s, like many managers with international bodies surrounding their treatment of his domestic stars, no less than in 2009 when Robin Van Persie was cleared to play in a Netherlands friendly with Italy, only to suffer ligament damage after a challenge by Giorgio Chiellini and he missed the rest of the entire season, proving costly in Arsenal’s title charge.
Whilst Wilshere must be itching to detach himself from his keyboard and Twitter in particularly, and embrace a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at London 2012, it cannot be overstated how much care needs to be employed when dealing with his comeback. As expectant fans, we all want to see the best talents playing for our country as soon as possible but patience is certainly a virtue we don’t always possess and you can see why Wenger has been displeased by Wilshere’s presence on Stuart Pearce’s 80-man provisional Team GB squad list. Wenger told BBC Sport.
‘I do not want to set the Olympics as a target because I do not know whether Jack will be fit to start at the beginning of the season’.
There’s not always been enough careful precaution taken with specific talents over the years with fans impatience transmitting to the management to fast-track them back into competition. We all saw in the case of Dean Ashton how temperamental long-term injuries can be with his anticipated involvement in the England squad being scuppered most famously in August 2006 where he broke his left ankle in training, proving to be a setback he just couldn’t shake fully before retiring early in 2009. Although Wilshere is younger, perhaps more hungry and itching to display his patriotism and camaraderie at national team level, you just cannot put the pressure on a young man’s head to come back and deliver immediately.
Whilst Arsenal fans and England onlookers hope and pray Wilshere’s injury troubles aren’t as deep-rooted as Ashton’s, what is true is that he must overcome this first injury successfully before any real talk of resuming a successful-looking future can surface once more. I don’t aim to scaremonger, but it would be an incredible shame if Wilshere’s legacy was to be remembered as just one full season. Wilshere has arguably been the greatest and flamboyant English talent to emerge since Wayne Rooney’s breakthrough and the latter is evidence that injury troubles can be defeated if hard work and dedication are to be employed.
But back to Wenger and international-domestic disputes in general; it is an aged truth of football nowadays that Premier League bosses are often riled by the careless selections from international realms. It is evidence of the lesser attachment to international football that many fans of respective clubs still condemn decisions to select their pros whose well-being at home isn’t considered fully first. The role of an international manager is often scrutinised as popping between ground to ground, casting a slender eye over a handful of performances and selecting a squad based on a lack of in-depth knowledge.
Using this complex, Pearce’s information surrounding Wilshere’s condition has been at odds with Wenger’s assessment but the latter will inevitably always put his club first. Given Wilshere’s potential long-term and expectation to flourish once more if he overcomes injury, it is imperative that he receives the utmost care and attention this summer. It may be painstaking for the youngster to miss out on Euro 2012 and London 2012 this year, but at 20, Wilshere shouldn’t be naïve in that he has plenty of years ahead of him and has an adequate period of time to remind football fans just how talented a footballer he is.
Was Stuart Pearce ill-advised to select Wilshere in his provisional squad? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
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