Yes, we’re only a few games into the season, and despite thumping Braga and Blackpool at home, it hasn’t being all that impressive. We’re still suspect at the back, and tending to play a pass too many in front of goal. It makes one wonder have any lessons from last season been learnt?! Well, one player who has learnt buckets from last season is our whizzkid Jack Wilshere. Chamakh has been very good, Koscielny better (but far from what we need) than what I thought and Squillaci looks like he could form a nice partnership with Vermaelen when he returns.  So while all these have been relatively nice surprises, the nicest and best for me have come from this young man:


Don’t worry, I can hear ye all from here! “What planet have you been on for the last few seasons? We all knew Jack Wilshere was going to make it, the young lad is a genius, future Liam Brady so he is.”

Yes, I’ve been well aware of Jack for some time now, just like the rest of ye. The wonder goals he has scored for the reserve and youth sides, he always playing one level ahead of his age group, but none of us are as green to not understand that it is a completely different kettle of fish playing in the Premier League and Champions League against some of the best players in the world. The acid test would always be how he would compare against them, and to date he hasn’t looked out of place.

He has already formed a great relationship with Arshavin, and this gives me such confidence on Wilshere’s footballing brain. This 18-year-old kid is already able to link up and read the thoughts of our Russian star in his prime?! If he can do that at 18, what will he be capable of at 23/24? Already he demands the ball, and his colleagues are so confident in his ability they make no qualms of giving it to him. Something Theo could learn from Jack is to have confidence in your own ability – we could perhaps name at least five examples that show Jack playing some wonderful passes that have either created goals or great goalscoring chances – the type of passes we are used to seeing from Cesc. That’s just the passes, there have been some clever flicks too.

However, the best thing about Jack to date has been his maturity, and it is because of this I mention he has learnt buckets from last season. Before he went on loan to Bolton there were a small couple of question marks regarding his temperament. There were suggestions he was getting a bit above himself and lacked some maturity (I can’t say this is 100% true and am not trying to portray Jack as a moany kid, just going on the information coming out at the time).

It personally shocked me to see Wilshere be sent on loan to Bolton last season, but it has to be classed as another stroke of genius by Wenger, or maybe by Liam Brady who may have had input in the decision. Either way, Jack was removed from the cotton wool effect of the Emirates and sent to Bolton were no inch is given. No doubt he was thought how to knuckle down and get work done by Davies and Co. None of us may be fans of Bolton, but for me at least I am grateful for the couple of months of footballing education Jack got from them. Already this season we’ve seen him getting kicked lumps out of, but Jack just dusts himself down and gets on with the game, none of this moaning.

It will be interesting to see how much game time Wilshere will get when Fabregas comes back from injury against Birmingham. Cesc probably won’t be a 100% match fit, so perhaps Cesc to start and Wilshere to replace him on the 60/70min mark, although Wenger may start the two of them in midfield with Song as DM? We’ll see next week, but for now Jack is developing very nicely as a player, one needed by Arsenal, and dare I say it, very much so by England.