Jack Wilshere as Holding Midfielder?

[markyp]

The past few weeks i cant help but think that Arteta is wasted as our DM,for one he has a keen eye for goal,something we've been sadly lacking this season,he can pick a killer pass and has an all round great footballing brain,Jack on the other hand has a poor goal return ,often runs into a bank of opposition as he gets to the final third and often lays off a ball to someone who hasnt made a run,with all Jacks endless running and aggresive tackling i think he'd be a great DM,I can see him breaking down the oppositions attacks in our final third then striding forward to link defence with attack,similar to a fit Diaby role.Arteta is too graceful to be wasted as battering ram,hes more suited to the finer points of the game.dont get me wrong im not slating Jack in any way heavens forbid,he hopefully is the future of Arsenal for years to come and his a massive massive talent but id sooner see him on the ball in our last third where he could actually protect our leaky defence far better than Arteta.i may well be wrong so shoot me down in flames if so

[northbank123]

Let's not ruin arguably our best player by playing him out of position.

I think Arteta has done okay there this year, but still gets caught out quite often. But I sure as fuck wouldn't change anything to do with Wilshere, he's one of the only positives about this team.

[markyp]

Let's not ruin arguably our best player by playing him out of position.

I think Arteta has done okay there this year, but still gets caught out quite often. But I sure as fuck wouldn't change anything to do with Wilshere, he's one of the only positives about this team.

im just thinking he'd see even more of the ball as a DM so would be even better for us

[northbank123]

I don't know if it's because of what we've had there last few years but that's not a DM's job. I don't give a flying fuck if a DM is creating chances if we're leaking them at the other end.

Wilshere is best when he's on the ball behind their midfield, or when he at least has a chance to create a yard of space and get himself into that position. I don't doubt Arteta is an important player for us in possession because (when he's playing well) he gives our play tempo but he's hardly allowed to do much fatal damage from DM.

Imo moving Wilshere would be one of the worst things we could do.

[ClockEndNick]

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[markyp]

I don't know if it's because of what we've had there last few years but that's not a DM's job. I don't give a flying fuck if a DM is creating chances if we're leaking them at the other end.

Wilshere is best when he's on the ball behind their midfield, or when he at least has a chance to create a yard of space and get himself into that position. I don't doubt Arteta is an important player for us in possession because (when he's playing well) he gives our play tempo but he's hardly allowed to do much fatal damage from DM.

Imo moving Wilshere would be one of the worst things we could do.

dont you think his goals return for a midfielder is poor though, he's hardly a Gerrard or scholes?fingers crossed that part of his game develops in time,he'd have the all round package then

[markyp]

i think we are unbalanced with cazorla -wilshere - arteta because its more like a 4-1-4-1 as opposed to a 4-2-3-1 so for me eventually we'll have to play either jack or santi more towards the right

that was kind of my other point too that you just picked up on

[Supagoon]

No thanks, I know Jack thinks he is tough, but i dont want to see him grabbing his balls everytime he goes for a 50-50.

We're basically playing with two CMs and a AM in midfield, and whilst Arteta can position himself well, we're not breaking up much play and Carzola is left with a lot of pressure.

[QuartzGooner]

I think we do not play with a traditional "enforcer" defensive midfielder at the moment.


Arteta and Wilshere split the duties between them.

Arteta hangs back a bit more than Wilshere, but plays as a "Holding Midfielder/Continuity Midfielder" in the mould of Gilberto - retaining possession where possible, passing the ball around, trying to dictate the tempo of our side, trying to keep team shape and intercepting.

But not as a powerful tackling midfielder such as Petit or Flamini, who were defensive midfielders though each had a different style.
Vieira was an all round midfielder, but such was his power and tackling ability he did both the work a defensive midfielder would do and the work a box-to-box midfielder would do.

Wilshere helps out with those duties too, but is of course also a creative player.

[Old Rosie]

Best suggestion I have heard since Kolo Toure for the holding midfield slot!

[markyp]

I think we do not play with a traditional "enforcer" defensive midfielder at the moment.


Arteta and Wilshere split the duties between them.

Arteta hangs back a bit more than Wilshere, but plays as a "Holding Midfielder/Continuity Midfielder" in the mould of Gilberto - retaining possession where possible, passing the ball around, trying to dictate the tempo of our side, trying to keep team shape and intercepting.

But not as a powerful tackling midfielder such as Petit or Flamini, who were defensive midfielders though each had a different style.
Vieira was an all round midfielder, but such was his power and tackling ability he did both the work a defensive midfielder would do and the work a box-to-box midfielder would do.

Wilshere helps out with those duties too, but is of course also a creative player.

some fair comments made there QuartzGooner

[_James_]

Arteta, Wilshere and Cazola are not working well together as a midfield 3, on paper they should be alot better than they are. They don't create enough chances, the ball seems to get stuck in midfield and when they do try something they give the ball away which puts the defence under pressure.

When Rosicky was playing it seemed to work better, but you cannot rely on him staying fit.

[topgoon]

Leave Jack where he is, he covers enough ground, get a proper DM then discussion is moot.

[StuartL]

Arteta, Wilshere and Cazola are not working well together as a midfield 3, on paper they should be alot better than they are. They don't create enough chances, the ball seems to get stuck in midfield and when they do try something they give the ball away which puts the defence under pressure.

When Rosicky was playing it seemed to work better, but you cannot rely on him staying fit.

I think Jack's best quality is to ghost past players with a drop of his shoulders - something that would be risky as a dm.

I agree he is at times shot shy - but that is true across the whole team apart from Carzola, and something that Wenker can only have preached - retain the ball, retain the ball, retain the ball.

I also think our midfield work too closely together, so that even after playing 3/4/5 passes we are no further forward or causing the opposition any discomfort at all. If they looked for slightly more penetration and actually pushed forward rather than sqaure, backwards we wpould be more effective (Rosicky bless him does at least attempt to go towards the opponents goal)

[Barriecuda]

Arteta is a good player who plays the holding role well due to his ability and experience in reading the game. However, you are correct, he is also a good offensive player who can both shoot and pick out a good pass.

Truth is though, even if we wanted to play him further up the field we have no adequate cover at DMF. Jack would not be well suited to the position and it would be a waste of his dribbling ability. Cazorla obviously not. Rosicky, barely. Diaby, no. Long story short, we have never filled this position properly after Song left; and Song wasn't that good at it either with his usual forays forward that left Arteta filling in the gap anyway.

Frimpong and Coquelin offer options, but obviously both of those players are very raw, and the former's development seems to have really hit a wall in the last few years.

Still of the opinion Vertonghen would have been a great signing to fill the space. Sahin might have, though his form at Liverpool has been far from promising.