Player Ratings 2013/14 - Part Three: Central Midfielders
Jack WILSHERE (MC) - 10
22 years old - 28+7 apps / 5 goals (3 PL / 2 CL) / 4 assists (PL)
After bursting onto the scene at such an early age, Wilshere’s career hasn’t quite caught fire in the way many predicted. This is not to say that Jack isn’t an exceptional player, because he is one of our brightest talents and has time on his side. He’s had significant trouble with injury and at the moment, it’s staying fit that is his primary concern. His fitness troubles have hampered his growth as a player and while he has been struggling for fitness and form, he has also had to deal with the shadow cast by Ramsey’s stunning performances. He started the season fairly well and has had some excellent moments, but he also had a dip in form that saw him draw a lot of criticism from journalists and fans alike. Despite that, he has shown his quality and there’s no reason Wilshere couldn’t be a world class player within the next couple of years. His performances have been a little up and down, but if he can stay fit next year, I’m sure we’ll see the best of him.
Season Rating - 6/10
Worst Moment - Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd (PL) - Found it a real struggle to make a mark on this game and he lost the ball a ridiculous amount of times.
Best Moment - Arsenal 4-1 Norwich (PL) - Wilshere scored one of the best goals seen at the Emirates after an unbelievable one-touch passing move between himself, Cazorla and Giroud.
World Cup? - Yes, Jack has recovered from a fractured foot in time for the tournament and it has since been revealed that Wenger delayed his club comeback to ensure his fitness for Brazil.
Will he stay? - Yes, no question.
Aaron RAMSEY (MC) - 16
23 years old / 30+4 apps / 16 goals (10 PL / 5 CL / 1 FA Cup) / 9 assists (8 PL / 1 CL)
Had Aaron Ramsey stayed fit for the whole season, he would have not only been Arsenal’s player of the season and would have been in with a shout of being the Premier League player of the year too. Ramsey has had a difficult start to his career. After a brilliant season at Cardiff and a promising start at Arsenal, he suffered the infamous broken leg at Stoke. After he recovered, it took a long time for him to shake the mental scars of the incident and as such, his performances suffered. But towards the end of last season, the signs began to appear that he might be getting back to his best. This season, he has simply caught fire, scoring at will, dominating games and sticking two fingers up at his critics.
However, after a series of astonishing performances, he suffered a muscular injury against West Ham and what should have been weeks out turned into months. He missed a crucial part of the season and it was very obvious at times how much we needed his dynamism back in the team, especially with Wilshere often injured or out of form. As soon as he came back, you could see the difference and he rounded off the season in style as he scored the winner in the FA Cup Final. A fabulous season despite the injury and if he can stay fit for the whole of next season, we’ll be much better for it.
Season Rating - 8/10
Worst Moment - Arsenal 0-0 Chesea (PL) - You have to search hard for a bad Aaron Ramsey moment, but the drab game against Chelsea was probably his poorest showing.
Best Moment - Hull City 2-3 Arsenal (FA Cup) - No brainer. Despite some absolute stunners this season, not much beats scoring a winning goal in a cup final and what a lovely goal it was too.
World Cup? - Wales haven’t featured in a major tournament for a long while so unfortunately not.
Will he stay? - He’s just signed a new long term contract, so he’s going absolutely nowhere.
