Why Arsenal star Jack Wilshere needs to be beware an attack of Bentleyitis

By Oliver Holt in Mirror Football Blog

Published 23:00 03/01/10

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By Oliver Holt

The Arsenal kids were all right in the end yesterday. Aaron Ramsey was particularly all right.

But there was an isolated outbreak of Bentleyitis in the Gunners ranks at Upton Park.

That’s Bentleyitis as in David Bentley.

Bentleyitis as in giving the impression you’re a bit too good for the rest of your Arsenal team-mates.

Bentleyitis as in believing too much of your own publicity and playing like you're a legend in your own mind before you’ve cracked the first team.

Bentleyitis as in strutting around like an emperor and playing like a pauper.

The victim of this unfortunate condition yesterday was Jack Wilshere.

It is a little harsh to single him out. He only turned 18 a few days ago.

But he does not look like the type who is going to let a bit of criticism drain his deep well of confidence.

And the truth is, Wilshere looked like a young man with an awful lot to learn against West Ham.

He has long been touted as one of the brightest stars to emerge from Arsenal’s youth system.

And it may be that he has attracted extra attention and hyperbole because he is an English kid at a club known for nurturing young players from abroad.

There were even those who suggested a few months ago that he might force his way into Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad by the end of this season.

Well, we can forget about that idea right now. The chances of Wilshere making the plane to South Africa are zero.

And while Ramsey gave a performance of extraordinary maturity in this FA Cup third round tie, Wilshere looked out of place.

He gave the ball away with alarming frequency, he neglected a golden chance to lay on a goal because he got greedy and he was reluctant to track back.

“He needs to play,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said after the match.

“Because he does not play enough games, when he does get a chance he feels under pressure to achieve something special.

“But I am not worried for him. He just needs to play. I will make a decision towards the end of January about whether to send him out on loan. It depends on how many players I get back from injury.”

Wilshere clearly has a lot of talent but he is also acquiring a reputation among some of his team-mates at Arsenal for growing rather intoxicated with his own ability.

He certainly needs to work on his contribution to the team ethos. Twice in the space of 30 seconds late in the first half, he gave the ball away in dangerous situations.

First, as Arsenal tried to play the ball out of defence, he flicked a casual pass straight to West Ham striker Frank Nouble on the edge of the Gunners box.

More experienced strikers would have buried the chance. Nouble fluffed it. But no sooner had Arsenal regained possession than Wilshere gave it away again.

This time, he came under pressure as he tried to shield the ball, running back towards his own goal. He dithered too long and Radoslav Kovac stole the ball from him to set up Luis Jiminez who fired wide.

Wilshere reacted by trying to blame right-back Bacary Sagna. William Gallas reacted by giving Wilshere one of his very hardest, longest stares.

Wilshere didn’t seem to notice. He had a chance to make a mark a few minutes later when he ran on to a clever backheel from Carlos Vela and accelerated into the West Ham box.

Alex Song was waiting unmarked five yards square of him, ready to shoot into an open goal. But Wilshere chose to ignore him and go alone. He was easily dispossessed.

A loan may be just what he needs. Before that Bentleyitis gets serious.

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