In one of the most surprising moves across the summer transfer window, Bournemouth secured the services of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere on a season-long loan.
Cherries boss Eddie Howe convinced the England international a move to the south coast would help revive his career, which has stagnated in recent years mainly due to injuries, and believes the 24-year-old will prove a vital addition to the Bournemouth midfield:
“One of the key things for us is to make sure he’s fit and able to do himself justice but also to maintain his fitness is key. We will be flexible with how we train to get the very best out of the player. I’m hoping he will bring quality to our attacking play. I think I’ve said after every game this season that we’ve frustrated. We’ve done well in the first two thirds and then that final pass, that final bit of creativity has been missing in stages of all the games. His main strength is his quality in the final third and I’m hoping that is evident very early. I’m excited to see him play in the team. I’m excited to see what he can do in the team and the level he can take us to.”
The History
Following a short spell with Luton Town, Wilshere joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of nine, and from an early age was earmarked as a potential future star. He was named captain of the Under 16s and, after impressing for the reserves, was handed his professional debut as a substitute in a 4-0 win at Blackburn in September 2008.
With first-team opportunities limited at the Emirates, Wilshere joined Bolton on loan in January 2010, and grabbed a goal and assist over 14 league appearances.
He returned to north London ahead of the 2010/11 season ready to establish himself as an Arsenal player, and made 35 league appearances, scoring one goals and adding three assists.
Following a serious ankle complaint, Wilshere missed the entire 2011/12 season, and has since been plagued by a number of injuries, particularly over the past two campaigns, where he’s totalled just 17 Premier League matches, producing two goals and one assist.
Wilshere represented England at every youth level from Under 16 to Under 21, playing 19 matches, before making his senior debut against Hungary in August 2010. He has appeared 34 times for England, scoring twice and registering two assists.
The Prospects
Given that Bournemouth have only scored two goals and registered the joint-third fewest goal attempts, Howe will certainly be hoping the addition of Wilshere can help provide more cutting edge to his side.
The Cherries boss has used a number of formations since their promotion to the top flight last season, but generally favours the 4-4-1-1 system.
So far this season, Josh King, the only Bournemouth attacker to have scored, has been favoured in the central support role behind Callum Wilson, but it could be that Wilshere has been pencilled in to play in that position.
King is also capable of playing in either wide position, or indeed as the lone striker, but the signing of Wilshere certainly places some doubt in regard to the Norwegian international’s minutes.
The Arsenal loanee could also play in the deeper central midfield positions, although Harry Arter and Andrew Surman are an established partnership in that area of the pitch. Wilshere could join them in a three-man midfield should Howe favour using a 4-3-3 system, though the manager’s quotes certainly hint at a more advanced berth.
Looking at Wilshere’s underlying statistics from the last season he was relatively injury free in 2013/14, he averaged a goal attempt every 86.1 minutes, and registered a key pass every 54.8 minutes.
Last season, both King and Arter offered more of a goal threat, averaging a shot every 36.3 and 47.6 minutes respectively, but both trailed Wilshere in terms of creativity, managing a key pass every 79.8 and 65.9 minutes respectively.
While Wilshere’s valuation of 5.9 in Fantasy Premier league (FPL) may at first look good value given his talent, the fact he’s never registered more than 93 points in a single season is clearly a concern – King claimed 98 points last term, despite only making 24 starts.
Bournemouth’s fixture list over the coming period (WBA, mci, EVE, wat, HUL, TOT) is also fairly mixed, so there’s certainly no need to seriously consider the England international until we at least see what position Howe plays him in, and whether he can steer clear of injury for an extended period of time.
The Arsenal loanee is certainly worth keeping an eye on, then, but with the likes of Southampton’s Nathan Redmond and the cheaper Etienne Capoue already providing strong value so far this season, and Everton’s Yannick Bolasie, for example, also in the same price bracket, there looks to be far safer options for us to consider for the time being.
