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Has Jack Wilshere regressed over the last couple of seasons?

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Jack Wilshere - ArsenalNo player in the entirety of world football seems to pick up more flack than Jack Wilshere. It seems that he’s England’s criticism magnet. If something goes wrong, or The Three Lions don’t manage to perform quite as expected, you can bet your bottom dollar that Wilshere’s to blame – that’s if you believe the media, of course.

The trouble seems to be that we all pinned our hopes on Wilshere when he was just 18-years-old. Back then he looked like such a breath of fresh air. He could run with the ball, beat people, deliver a killer pass and create havoc in the final third.

It looked like Arsene Wenger had finally delivered an English midfielder who could play free-flowing football in the typical style of an Arsenal player.

Unfortunately, life seems to have had its wicked way with Jack. A few injury problems and cigarettes later and he doesn’t seem to have progressed at all as a player.

At least that’s what The Metro are keen to suggest. They include a graphic courtesy of WhoScored that seems to suggest that Wilshere’s career has either stagnated or gone backwards. This strikes me as hugely unfair. How is a graphic like this supposed to account for the intricacies of a young player’s career?

Given young Jack’s injury record (he hasn’t played more than 30 games per season since 2010/11), it’s a wonder that he’s managed to keep his statistics as stable as they currently are. The fact that his pass accuracy has never dropped below 86% is very impressive indeed.

Other aspects of his game have also started to develop. He’s the kind of player that likes to pick the ball up and run with it. He’s not afraid to take players on and to try and force the issue. Sometimes this backfires and other times it works. That’s football.

His performance against Besiktas in the Champions League qualifier round was actually one of his best in an Arsenal shirt. His touch, control and ability to turn in tight spaces was invaluable. His ability to find a pass whilst under heavy pressure is quite remarkable.

What’s more, he doesn’t shirk on his defensive responsibilities.

A graphic like the one listed above just can’t account for everything. To say that Jack Wilshere hasn’t developed at all is wildly inaccurate. Now we just need to wait for him to make that big step up in class.

What’s your take? What does the future hold for Jack Wilshere?

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