Is “the new Wayne Rooney” ready to mix it up with the big boys?
After becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant in September 2008 (a crown that previously belonged to a Mr C Fabregas), Jack Wilshere’s career is going from strength to strength. The seventeen-year-old midfielder was the undisputed star of the recent Emirates Cup, scoring twice and earning two Man of the Match champagne bottles that he is not legally allowed to enjoy.
The young Gunner has also earned a place in England’s U21 squad to face Holland this week, and is hotly tipped to become a part of Fabio Capello’s World Cup 2010 squad - an international honour that was bestowed on his weak-shouldered colleague Theo Walcott when he was also just seventeen.
However, despite admitting Wilshere has a level of maturity well beyond his years, Professor Wenger is keen to shield the lad he refers to as “the new Wayne Rooney” from the kind of hype that Public Enemy told us we shouldn’t believe:
“As a manager you do not want a guy to be a star before he has delivered, and maybe in England that is more difficult than anywhere else.”
So, is Wilshere ready to cope with regular top flight football, or should the Professor let him run amok in Carling Cup games and the early stages of the Champions League for another season? The Spoiler is leaning towards the latter - he may appear ready for the challenge, but look what happened to Freddy Adu when he was thrown in at the deep end at a young age.
Someone has managed to outdo to rubbish Emirates Cup line-up
The Spoiler has good news for Arsenal fans who are disappointed to be facing Rangers instead of Real Madrid this summer: the Emirates Cup is no longer the worst friendly tournament taking place.
It has been reported today that West Ham, Tottenham and Hull will all go to China to face Beijing Guoan in the Premier League Asia Trophy. The tournament has previously been attended by Chelsea and Liverpool but the apparent invitation to Hull, who may not even be in the Premier League next season, suggests that they are really having to scrape the barrel this year.
Our theory is that as Premier League clubs have won each of the previous three tournaments, the organisers are trying to give the Asian entrant a strong chance of winning for a change. It also means that West Ham’s next “cup final” against Tottenham (as fixtures between the sides are mockingly referred to by Spurs fans) could actually be a cup final.
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