5 reasons why Jack Wilshere’s Bournemouth move makes sense
Name the key difference between Arsenal before the international break and now and you can’t say the arrivals of both Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez.
It is of course the departure of Jack Wilshere in his shock Deadline Day loan switch to AFC Bournemouth.
Having appeared from the bench when sent on by Arsene Wenger at Watford last time out, Wilshere will now play the rest of the season at Vitality Stadium where even a few of his new Cherries team-mates might look on at him with awe.
It’s been a forgettable period in Wilshere’s career with injuries having reared their ugly head continuously.
Despite controversially being called up by Roy Hodgson for England’s Euro 2016 squad, it didn’t really work out for Wilshere in France either and the AFC Bournemouth move offers him a chance to reignite his career in less glamorous surroundings.
In all fairness, Dorset is actually a beautiful part of the country and being in the south, Wilshere isn’t so far away from home in a move that will ultimately give football fans more answers about his long-term future and whether that belongs at Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger spoke in his pre-Southampton press conference about Wilshere being “world class” so there is absolutely no doubting that the Frenchman still fully believes in his ability.
With this theme in mind, Arsenal Mania are today looking at FIVE reasons why Jack Wilshere’s loan move to AFC Bournemouth makes sense.
Quite simply, he’ll get more game time
Let’s start with the obvious.
If you’re looking to achieve regular game time with Arsenal or AFC Bournemouth right now, you’re so much more likely to get on the field with the Cherries.
While Harry Arter and Andrew Surman have been holding down the Cherries’ central midfield for a long while now, AFC Bournemouth haven’t had a talent like Jack Wilshere before.
Depending on how Eddie Howe intends to utilise Wilshere, everybody will expect him to start whenever he’s fit to be called upon and considering this is still the Premier League, he’ll still be in the immediate consciousness of new England boss Sam Allardyce once more.
Reduced fixture schedule at Bournemouth
Let’s get this straight; even one game a week has proved too difficult for Jack Wilshere to manage over the past few years given the repeated nature of his injuries.
That said, a reduced schedule at AFC Bournemouth who aren’t playing in Europe and only have to contend with Premier League games and EFL Cup fixtures should play into Wilshere’s hands well.
If he were to have joined Roma for example, the Italian giants are in the Europa League this season so there would’ve been many more games where Wilshere might’ve been depended upon.
It is vital that Wilshere’s workload is managed efficiently and right here in England under the watchful eye of Arsenal and the careful guidance of Eddie Howe, it appears like he’s in safe hands.
Bournemouth are no threat & he can plot rivals’ downfall
Barring a miracle of Leicester City proportions, AFC Bournemouth will prove no threat to Arsenal this season so loaning him to a lesser outfit where he can be the main man seems good business all round.
What’s more, if Wilshere actually takes everybody by surprise while quickly getting back to the standards he set for himself earlier in his career, he could actually help plot the downfall of the Gunners’ title rivals when they visit the south coast.
It’s a tight pitch down at Vitality Stadium and if Wilshere can hone those deadly through balls he’s produced down his career, he could forge a great partnership with the likes of Josh King, Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban.
He’ll be the main man & can gain confidence back
As already alluded to, given where he’s been in his career thus far with no disrespect to AFC Bournemouth, Jack Wilshere will be the main man down on the south coast if he can stay fit.
A lot of the media attention will centre upon Wilshere if he can stay fit for many Premier League outings this season and this will be no bad thing.
After all, Wilshere has clearly lost his confidence and his way given all the injuries he’s suffered in the past few years and building him back up to be the player he was with no fear and a swagger about his game will be great for AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal and England.
He has a close friend in Benik Afobe close by to adjust
As we all saw on Deadline Day, one man who was delighted to be welcoming Jack Wilshere to the south coast was current Cherries star Benik Afobe.
A former Arsenal player of course, Afobe is a close friend of Wilshere and actually godfather to Jack’s daughter so having such a close associate nearby will be perfect for the England international adjusting to his new life on the south coast.
Being friends and having played so much youth football together can only prove positive and it’ll be interesting to see whether Eddie Howe looks to cash in on this midfield-striker partnership in his preferred starting eleven.