Charlie Nicholas is convinced Jack Wilshere is a better footballer than other Arsenal central midfielders and thinks it’s just a matter of time before he becomes a first-team regular at the Emirates once more.
The England international’s future was thrown into doubt after he left for Bournemouth on loan last season but his impressive display against Doncaster on Wednesday suggested he could play a big role under Arsene Wenger in the 2017/18 campaign.
While Gunners hero Nicholas doesn’t expect Wilshere to start against West Brom on Monday night, he is convinced that the 25-year-old has more to offer than Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny as a player.
‘None of us, in all honesty, think he can get back to where he was four or five years ago because the injuries have been so severe, but if he can get close to that then he’s still worth keeping,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘Is he a better footballer than Granit Xhaka? Yes. He’s certainly better than Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin, and things are starting to fall in place for him where he’s going to get opportunities.
‘Even Tottenham fans would have to acknowledge he’s shown remarkable determination to bounce back again and he’s got too much talent for Arsenal to give up on him.
‘He went to Bournemouth to get playing time and maybe it didn’t go quite as well as he would have liked but he showed the willingness to keep trying.
‘Put it this way, I’d much rather Wilshere was on the bench than Elneny or Coquelin.’
While he struggles to see Wilshere getting back to his very best, Nicholas is convinced he will have a role to play going forward and thinks this week could prove to be another good opportunity to blood him back into the first team.
‘For the first time in a long time I think the signs are swaying towards him getting first-team football again and earning a role in Arsene Wenger’s squad.
‘He won’t start against West Brom and it will probably take him a lot of time to get over his first 90 minutes, when he was probably man-of-the-match, but if if they can get 2-0 up then the crowd would certainly love to see him get 20 minutes.
“Then on Thursday night, against BATE Borisov, I’m looking at him getting another 90, so he’s on the right track.
‘A lot of people have said he won’t get into the team because of Mesut Ozil but he doesn’t necessarily have to play there, but he’ll get opportunities in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup.’
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