Arsenal fans may have been gloating last night to everybody involved at Barcelona that ‘they’ve got Cesc Fabregas’ but what they of being should have been singing was ‘we’ve got Jack Wilshire!’
Jack Wilshire is a rising star and at such a young age, to perform like he did Tuesday night against arguably the best midfield in the world was a statement to everybody this kid is no-longer just a fantastic young prospect but a player who is already good enough to mix it with the big names of world football!
With transfer talk apparently ‘dead’ between Barcelona and Arsenal for Fabregas until the summer; some questions are now being asked whether Cesc Fabregas is really needed when you have Jack Wilshire. The answer to that question is - of course they can! To win trophies you need quality players, not a quality player! That is what of course made Manchester United successful and what has made Barcelona successful now. Successful teams are made as teams not as individuals. These teams never just had one quality player they have 12-15 players who would walk into any other team in the league, if not Europe! For Barcelona now, you don’t just have to stop Messi you have to stop Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa. If you stop those players and think you can relax players like Pedro can pop up and do just what those players can when needed! If it’s not happening for one star; there are 10 other players ready to step up and make themselves a star!
This is why Cesc Fabregas is now just as important as he was before Arsenal as he was last season. If you want to put it in simple terms - Wilshire has the potential to be Barcelona’s Xavi - what I like to call the ‘linchpin’ or the ‘support midfielder’ to the attacking midfield player or advanced playmaker. Again in simple terms ‘Fabregas is Barcelona’s Iniesta’ - he player who gets inbetween the lines of the defence who feed the attacking players ahead of them! In front of these creative players you have three players all with different qualities that carry different treats!
Theo Walcott offers blistering pace who if you give space in behind has the pace to destroy teams and is now developing the end product in both scoring goals and assists. On the left you have either Samri Nasri or Andrei Arshavin who can skip past players for fun, score and create goals. Nasri is also very comfortable playing in the role of the advanced playmaker as he has shown when Fabregas has been out of the side - this is not a reason to think Arsenal can cope without there captain but a positive reason that when Fabregas is not in the side Arsenal have a natural playmaker who can offer the same qualities as Fabregas does without having to change their style of play!
Then we have Robin van Persie - Arsenal’s MVP. Sometimes he can be wasteful but more often than not he’s clinical - especially if the ball falls to his left foot - when it’s hit it stays hit! When Arsenal have these players mentioned fit and firing they can be unstoppable, they can beat anyone on their day as Barcelona found out after dominating and out playing Arsenal for 70 minutes! They do not have to just rely on Fabregas as was sometimes the case last season, they have other big names that can step up and make it count when it matters the most! But just because players may seem replaceable does not mean they are! The saying ‘you only know what you had when it’s gone’ counts in football terms too, Arsenal should enjoy the times while they have such attacking talent and look at ways to improve this and when it comes to mixing with the big names of Xavi and Iniesta they should make sure they have many big names on their side who are not just good enough to stand up the challenge but are good enough to go one better! Because after all that has been Arsene Wenger’s philosophy after all and if there is one person who knows better than anyone else just how important Cesc Fabregas is too Arsenal’s future then it is Arsene Wenger!
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