“He [Jack Wilshere] will play for the U21s on Monday night and I will have to see how he is compared to his competitors,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger when probed when Wilshere would return to the first-team. “Once he is through three or four games of course we will consider him.”
The fact that Wilshere is back playing in some capacity will be music to Roy Hodgson’s ears. Without really speaking about the issue, it is understood that Hodgson is desperate to pick the Arsenal midfielder in his squad for the Euros in the summer, even if he is only partially fit.
Wilshere has spent the whole season recovering from a broken ankle suffered just prior to the start of the campaign and the 24-year-old hasn’t played competitively since scoring a brace for England against Slovenia in June last year.
The Arsenal No.10 is arguably England’s most gifted midfielder and some of his best football over the last two years has come when wearing the England jersey. Hodgson had intended on making Wilshere the heartbeat of his England team at the base of a midfield diamond, but injuries only permitted Wilshere to five appearances (7.82 WhoScored.com rating).
Wilshere stepped up his return on Thursday evening in a 3-1 defeat to Swansea for Arsenal’s U21s, where he set up Serge Gnabry for Arsenal’s only goal. He still has a way to go yet before being considered by Wenger, but if he remains fit until the end of the season then it wouldn’t be surprising to see him named in Hodgson’s 23-man squad for the Euros.
Unfortunately, this would come at the expense of someone who is likely to have played all season. Mark Noble is one of those that have been miraculously overlooked by Hodgson at all opportunities this season and the West Ham midfielder could feel aggrieved to miss out completely for someone that will only have featured in a couple of matches.
It would represent a huge risk to take a player that has only started nine league matches since the start of last season, but given the extended format of the Euros this season, perhaps it’s a risk worth taking for Hodgson, who has nothing to lose in what could be his final tournament as England manager.
For more stats on Jack Wilshere, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
Of course he should take Wilshere, because he's played so well for England, and because who else is there to play in the deeper midfield roles?