Arsène Wenger believes it would be a risk to start Jack Wilshere in the Premier League until he is convinced the Arsenal midfielder is ready to handle the intensity of the competition.
Although Wenger feels that Wilshere is almost back to his best after completing 90 minutes against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup and Bate Borisov in the Europa League, the manager does not want the 25-year-old to endure a setback after his recovery from a broken leg.
“If the competition was less ferocious, he is ready to play,” Wenger said. “I wouldn’t be scared to play him. In the Premier League he can play [soon]. He is nearly back to his best.”
Wenger responded to speculation that Wilshere, who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, will need to move in January in order to earn a place in England’s World Cup squad by saying that he will have opportunities at Arsenal. However, Wilshere has not played in the Premier League since April and Wenger knows it will be necessary to adopt a cautious approach with a player whose combative performance against Borisov showed he remains unlikely to shy away from physical confrontations in midfield.
“It is part of his game,” Wenger said. “You cannot ask a guy not to go into any contact. I believe it is his strength. His strength is to turn the game forward and have acceleration individually or with the ball. Sometimes when he accelerates individually he pushes the ball too far and gets confronted.”
Wenger insisted Mesut Özil remained an important member of his squad despite indicating Arsenal could look to cash in on the Germany international in January. Özil is in the final year of his contract and although he is set to return for Saturday’s trip to Watford after recovering from a knee injury, Arsenal have done well without him in recent weeks.
“I genuinely think he wants to stay,” Wenger said. “But I am always positive about that. Of course he is important. But I have many players – we spoke about Jack, we spoke about Iwobi. They are all players who play in this similar position and it is very interesting because it gives me a lot of opportunities to keep them all focused and refreshed.
“People go quickly to conclusions. Last year we played the last 11 games and won 10. We beat Man City in the FA Cup semi-finals and Chelsea in the final and he played as well. You can always find the example. But it’s true that we have done well recently.
“We live in the world where people have opinions and sometimes they are right and sometimes they are not always proven right on the longer period. You need players who have quality and Özil is one of the best players in the world.”