Jack Wilshere is at Bournemouth to get the competitive football he needs, says Arsene Wenger, who wants him to spend his career at Arsenal.
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With a reported ten clubs circling to secure the services of the England worldwide the move represents quite a coup for the south coast outfit and – should he stay fit – his energetic probing will much improve Eddie Howe’s young side. In football management you live week to week.
Should things go to plan, Wenger anticipates Wilshere re-establishing himself at the club for the rest of his playing career and beyond.
Wenger is encouraged by the fact Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe wants to deploy Wilshere as an attacking midfielder rather than in the deep, holding role where he often played for England.
‘He has a real football brain and understands football.
‘I see him in the future at this club of course. He has an eye on everybody. You either have that or you haven’t, but he is a real football man. The thinking behind the [move] was that he would get regular football and come back to what he is – a world class football player. Acknowledging he saw the midfielder as a potential future Arsenal captain, Wenger also looked further ahead. I do not try to be right, but if I give him out and he plays, I will be more right. We have all been his age and wanted to play football but we didn’t have his talent. The player’s talents were even noticed by former England head-coach Roy Hodgson who picked him in his squad for the European Championships in France.
He took the Cherries up to the third tier the following year and, after leaving for a two-year stint at Burnley in the Championship, returned in 2012 and led them to two more promotions in three years. I don’t want to hear it.
“If he plays, he will play really well”.
“If he plays, he will play really well because he can not play badly”, Wenger said.
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“It’s the first time for a long time that I’ve had a team of what you can call men ready to compete”. “I am looking forward to working hard every day with the coaching staff and my new team-mates to help the club achieve success on the pitch”.
