Jack Wilshere - Walking towards a storm of expectations

There is a storm brewing. A storm that is coming right at Jack Wilshere. Unfortunately for him, he cannot avoid it. He cannot dodge it. He has to stand up and face it. He will need help though. All the help he can get. From his manager to the players and right down to the fans. The Media? Expecting help from them is like expecting Stoke to play football.

The Media, as is their job, will certainly do what they have to do. Create a storm of expectations. The British Media love to do that. They have been doing that effectively for a long time.

Jack Wilshere plays for England and is highly regarded and many would say rightly so, as one of the most talented youngsters in the world. This youngster dominated an opposition team which had Xavi and Iniesta in its ranks in a Champions League Knockout Round. That is enough for anyone to announce himself on stage.

He has everything that England need. Dribbling, Passing, Movement, keeping possession and moving the ball effectively.

But England is not the only that needs him. Arsenal do too. That is where this storm gets even dangerous.

Jack Wilshere has yet to play football for the first team since recovering from his injury. Still, circumstances surrounding Arsenal and what happened in Poland with England means that all the spotlight is on him.

Jack Wilshere has been portrayed by fans and media alike to be some sort of messiah for both club and country. Like all problems will be solved when Wilshere will step into the midfield for both.

That unfortunately is not true. I am not doubting Wilshere’s ability here. I am just questioning the thought process of putting faith in a 20-year-old football player who is returning from a FOURTEEN month injury lay off.

Jack Wilshere, though, seems to be a player who can handle the pressure of expectation. But will he able to handle all of this?

When representing England he still has Rooney, who remains one constant source of expectation at every big tournament. Rooney alone has not been able to handle the pressure at International Level, though there are various other reasons as well for his non-performance which are best left for another article.

At Arsenal though, fans expect Wilshere to save the day. He has been handed the No.10 jersey and Wilshere is expected to start from where he left off, before the unfortunate injuries befell him. Fans, though, should be cautious. A player coming back from a 14 month injury lay off cannot be suddenly expected to hit his peak level of performance.

Fans need to be patient with him. Arsenal fans need to understand that. More so, England fans need to understand that.

Arsene Wenger needs to make sure that Jack Wilshere is not rushed back. He has still not given him time on the pitch for the first team but he was not facing the sort of pressure he faces now. He has managed to keep Wilshere away from the spotlight or atleast tried his best.

Based on the current tensions surrounding the club, Wenger might really be tempted to put Wilshere out there on the field. He simply has to resist it and follow through with his original plan for Wilshere. Maybe a substitute appearance against QPR would be good.

Even though letting Wilshere start may prove beneficial to Arsenal in the short term, it may end up harming the long term prospects of both the player and the club.

Wilshere needs to get ready, both mentally and physically. A storm is coming his way and when it hits him, and you can bet that it will, he needs to be prepared to face it.