Jack Wilshere, once the future of Arsenal and England, faced with career crossroads

Greg Lea uses his Premier League column this week to focus on Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere.

Jack Wilshere is on loan at Bournemouth from Arsenal this season. Matthew Childs / Reuters

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jake Livermore made his first England appearance in almost five years in last week’s friendly clash with Germany.

Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse was handed his senior debut in the same game, replacing Livermore after 83 minutes at Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Eric Dier were given opportunities in the engine room in England’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania four days later.

One English midfielder who was not involved during the recent international break was Jack Wilshere, who has started only one competitive match for his country — a goalless draw with Slovakia at Euro 2016 — since June 2015.

It would have been difficult to conceive of a fully-fit Wilshere being left out of the squad without any hint of a backlash two years ago, when the Arsenal man was considered by many — including Barcelona hero Xavi — to be the future of English football.

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Yet his name barely received a mention in the discussions that followed Gareth Southgate’s latest selection, which is not that surprising given that Wilshere’s manager at club level prefers Andrew Surman, Harry Arter and Dan Gosling to the Arsenal loanee.

“We’re very excited to welcome Jack to the football club,” Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe told the BBC after his side fought off competition from Crystal Palace and Watford to sign Wilshere on a season-long deal last summer.

“He’ll bring some creativity in the final third, that quality that we’ve potentially been lacking in the first few games. I expect with Jack’s quality that, if he’s fit, he would be available in the team.”

Wilshere, 25, was indeed virtually ever-present between the middle of September and the 2-1 defeat by West Brom at the end of February, before being dropped to the bench for the visit to Manchester United last month.

Bournemouth picked up a hard-earned point at Old Trafford that afternoon, and Wilshere was limited to second-half cameos totalling 20 minutes in the subsequent victories over West Ham United and Swansea City.

It would be overly simplistic to view Howe’s decision solely through the prism of Wilshere’s performances this season.

After all, he has been deployed as a No 10 for most of the campaign, and the primary reason for him being left out of the starting XI against United was to allow Bournemouth to field two strikers at the top of the pitch. Josh King operated just behind Benik Afobe in a bid to increase the team’s attacking firepower.

It was a tactical move from Howe, whose structural alteration has been rewarded with seven points from a possible nine.

Nevertheless, it feels significant that Wilshere has not been considered for one of the two deeper berths in central midfield, which was previously seen as his favoured role.

Afobe and King were responsible for all six of Bournemouth’s goals in their last three encounters, so it is highly doubtful that Howe will change his side’s setup against Southampton at St Mary’s this weekend. Given that Wilshere appears to be behind three others in the midfield pecking order, then, another match among the substitutes is probable.

The bigger question surrounds what comes next. Arsenal remain well stocked in Wilshere’s position and, with Arsene Wenger’s future up in the air, have far more pressing issues at hand. Bournemouth, meanwhile, was only ever going to be a stopgap.

Serie A has been mentioned as a possible destination, although it is not yet clear which of Italy’s clubs would be interested.

Wilshere’s career, it seems fair to say, is at a crossroads, and he is likely to have a very big decision to make this summer.

Pochettino must do better with transfer dealings

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. Andrew Couldridge / Reuters

It is the last remaining question mark hanging over Mauricio Pochettino.

European struggles aside, Tottenham Hotspur are having another excellent season. Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Burnley, they are second in the Premier League and through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Yet the absence through injury of Harry Kane, who could be out until the final few weeks of the campaign, has emphasised how poor Tottenham’s work in last summer’s transfer window was.

Vincent Janssen, the striker signed from Arizona Alkmaar to assume the role of Kane’s backup, has contributed just one open-play goal in 31 outings — and that strike came against third-tier Millwall in the FA Cup.

Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou have also failed to impress, as did Clinton N’Jie last season and Federico Fazio in 2014/15.

There have been some success stories during Pochettino’s three years at the helm, including Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Victor Wanyama. But Janssen has become emblematic of Tottenham’s hit-and-miss record in the market.

It was telling that wide forward Son Heung-min was given the nod ahead of the Netherlands international in last month’s win over Southampton.

Tottenham recorded a 13th consecutive victory at White Hart Lane against Claude Puel’s men, but it was not an easy afternoon for the hosts.

Southampton were the better team in the second half and, as well as being uncharacteristically sloppy in possession, Tottenham struggled to make the ball stick up front.

That led to Pochettino introducing Harry Winks in place of Son and pushing Alli into the nominal No 9 role, which is where he could begin this weekend’s game at Turf Moor.

Alli, 20, has scored 14 Premier League goals this season and has evolved from a midfielder into a second striker.

He could be the man to lead the line until Kane returns.

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