Jack Wilshere: Arsenal goals can boost England as well as Gunners
Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's bright mood was reflected in his joke to shrug off Mesut Ozil's missed penalty - agreeing a rare German blemish from the spot was "good news for England".
The better news for Wenger and England manager Roy Hodgson was the two goals scored by Jack Wilshere, the first double of his career, as Arsenal moved to the brink of qualification for the Champions League knockout phase with a 2-0 win over Marseille.
Hodgson is hardly in a slump, having guided England to the World Cup in Brazil by remaining undefeated in their group, but friendly losses to superior opposition in the shape of Chile and Germany have removed some of the optimism of qualification.
The idea of a German superstar missing a penalty may appeal to any sense of mischief Hodgson harbours, but the thought of Arsenal's Wilshere fulfilling his promise, with the added gloss of goals, will be of more serious interest.
Wilshere was the focal point of an Arsenal win that means they need only avoid a three-goal defeat to reach the Champions League's last 16.
And Hodgson will be examining Wilshere's performances for signs that he might finally put an injury-interrupted run behind him and become the significant influence his admirers believe he will be for club and country.
There is no doubt Wilshere needed to find improvement in his game, even within the context of Arsenal's excellent start to the season, as he found himself overshadowed by a rejuvenated Aaron Ramsey. And there were moments to savour at Emirates Stadium, particularly a goal after 27 seconds.
It came, admittedly, against a largely uninterested Marseille, who fielded a reduced team to save their energies for other matters as they remain without a Champions League point. But there was real pedigree as Wilshere found space in the box to curl a left-foot finish precisely past keeper Steve Mandanda.
He then almost set up another for Ramsey before finishing off Ozil's fine pass for the second after 65 minutes.
But the fact this was the first time he had ever scored twice in one match - he has only nine goals in his club career - highlights one of the flaws in his game that Wilshere is determined to address.
Wenger had noticed - even commented on - the fact his England midfielder might not be a regular scorer, and if he adds this extra dimension Hodgson will be a happy man too.
Midfield is one of the areas where the national boss must wrestle with key decisions - and Wilshere has not distinguished himself for his country in recent times.
He had a particularly tough night in the goalless World Cup qualifying draw with Ukraine in Kiev, shrugged off the ball with ease too often as well as showing carelessness in possession.
Wilshere has inevitably been paying the price for a career so often unfortunately interrupted by injury and it is clear Hodgson will have him in mind for a starting role in Brazil if he puts a sequence of his best form together.
Hodgson, like Wenger, will want goals from midfield as he surveys his options for Brazil.
He may not want to take all three of his 30-somethings, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick. Gerrard will clearly go as captain and it may be that even 35-year-old Lampard is vulnerable.
What is certain is that the supply of goals from Gerrard and Lampard is not as plentiful as it once was and Carrick has never been a regular scorer.
Manchester United's Tom Cleverley shows no signs of becoming a serious international player, and although Everton's Ross Barkley is an outstanding talent who may yet have a role to play at the World Cup, a goalscoring Wilshere would become an even more precious commodity in this context.
For his club, this was another highly satisfying night in a satisfying group that has somehow yet to yield qualification for the knockout stage.
It is an indicator of the quality of Group F, with Borussia Dortmund and Napoli also fighting to qualify, that Arsenal are three points clear with only one game left and could still go out.
Wenger will believe they can get at least a point - and certainly avoid that three-goal loss that could send them out.
And he has every reason to be pleased when he examines Arsenal's season so far - four points clear in the Premier League and on top of their Champions League section. It provides the perfect base to move the season on to its next phase.
If it can be done with Wilshere moving back towards the levels so many expected before injuries began to hamper him, then Wenger's justified optimism that Arsenal can end those long years without a trophy will only increase.
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Wilshere would struggle 2 get in2 Utd's team.
Comedy gold, and I'm not an Arsenal supporter.
If he's playing like a dream come the end of April, well then it's time to dream of Brazil.
Until then, just enjoy a young man enjoying his football again.
Currently under rigid 4-4-2 man Roy Hodgson's set up the play is dull and static, no wonder Wilshire tries too hard to make an impression when then likes of Lampard, Carrick, and Gerrard play at walking pace.
ESG-You keep going on about passing % but only mention 1 game.Why not look at the whole season as that would be far more relevant.
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Because that would be using stats properly, rather then selectively like he always does.
He's a joker ;-)
What is this guy on?
Get a grip son!
It might have something to do with you saying that Aaron Ramsey is English!!
Please don't lump Gerrard together with Lampard and Rooney. Gerrard can adopt to any system the manager of whatever team he is playing for, successfully. Have you not seen the way Liverpool are playing this season? and Gerrard is at the hub of that.
Welbeck - 1 goal last season - ESG 'he played on the wing'. So did Bale. For Spurs. United won the PL. No excuse
Cleverly - ESG 'He has 88% pass completion'. Great but what does he do with the ball? Nothing
Rooney - poor for Eng. ESG - 'poor service'
Funny guy.
Then again neither did Ramsey who is a born-again-goal-machine so far this season. Hope JW stays fit and remains focussed on football and improving his game.
Considering MC and SG are deep lying, he should be ahead of them should he not?
Anyhow, I can't believe that having a good game and scoring 2 goals warrants any kind of praise for the guy at the moment. He has not developed like he should have over the last couple of years and only gets a sniff for England because we are weak in CM with the exception of SG
Let's see if he can keep doing it
@219 Soccermane - Funny that SAF seemed 2 disagree bout how good he was 4 Utd.
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SAF also said that RVP was lucky to be alive because a ball him in the head. I wouldn't take his word as gospel
http://hitrowz.com/2013/11/21/select-your-england-squad-for-brazil-2014/
Amazing when you consider how injury prone and patchy his form has been.
Does it speak of his quality, or the lack of other convincing options?
I'm saying SAF never said a bad word against Man U in his life so it's pointless to use "I agree with SAF" when trying to argue against a criticism of Man U as it's a given.
The RVP thing is just an example. You could say "He could have been killed, I'm right cos SAF agrees and he's a manager and you lot are just part time armchair "experts".
Do you see where your logic fails?
Not really a throw away comment. He didn't say it in jest, casually or in private, or retract it later. He meant it.
My point it SAF would never say a negative thing about Man U, so it's weak to bat away criticism of Man U by saying "Well SAF disagrees".
Of course he does! He would disagree about any bad word about Man U, no matter how justified. Doesn't make him right though.
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"International Manager, much like Club Managers, would like midfielders to score goals"
Well....obviously Phil! Hardly cutting edge reporting really, is it?
I'm more interested in a striker's finishing than his defensive ability, and let's be fair Welbeck is among the worst finishers in the league. Even if you consider he spent time on the wing last season, 1 goal is still a very poor return for a winger who likes to get in the box.
Is he someone that will score a winner in the World Cup in a one on one situation? The likelihood is no.