Paul Gascoigne’s fearless style inspired Jack Wilshere as England flew through the clouds to Slovenia.
|||Paul Gascoigne’s fearless style inspired Jack Wilshere as England flew through the clouds to Slovenia.
Wilshere watched the new documentary film about Gazza during the flight to Ljubljana, marvelling at his footwork, invention and the iconic goal against Scotland at Euro 96.
By the time he had fastened his seatbelt for the return journey Wilshere was already floating on air, savouring the thrill of his first England goals — two long-range strikes Gascoigne would have been proud to call his own.
‘I watched the film on the plane and it did inspire me,’ said Wilshere. ‘You could tell by the way he was going out and playing for England that he didn’t feel any fear.
‘Sometimes I think players feel a little bit of fear and a bit of pressure when they play for their country. But he just wanted to go out there. He said he felt at his best when he was playing, with the ball at his feet. You do sometimes feel like that. He did it and he was England’s best player. So, it’s worth a try.’
Wilshere has found his goal touch late in the season. He scored only four for club and country, but three of those came in his last four games.Two for England in a 3-2 win in Slovenia and a breathtaking volley for Arsenal against West Bromwich Albion.
He rated his second on Sunday as the best. ‘It was for England and it put us in the lead,’ said Wilshere. ‘It was a great team goal. Jordan Henderson passed it to Adam Lallana and not many players have that ability to see I was coming. He was running the other way and flicked it back. It sat up perfectly and I hit it sweetly.
‘Then, I’d probably say the first one for England. I was backing up, it fell nicely and I thought: “Why not?”. Thankfully it went in.
‘You work for these kind of moments, especially with England. When you’re younger, you dream of playing for England. So the goals felt great because playing for your country is great and when you score it’s a special feeling.’
Wilshere admits a goal was overdue, as he won his 28th cap. ‘It wasn’t preying on my mind,’ he said. ‘But you look at your stats and it says 28 games and no goals.
‘I hope there will be more. I’ve been open about saying I haven’t scored enough. I get into good positions but haven’t scored. It’s strange because I’m playing a deeper role.’
In the absence of a natural holding midfielder, Wilshere has been identified to operate deeper, even though his instinct is always to go forward, skipping past tackles and bouncing one-twos.
Roy Hodgson tries to resist labels like ‘holding midfielder’ and does not want to neutralise a creative force but this role is all about anticipation and decision making.
Wilshere has studied video clips of midfielders who control the game from that area, like Andrea Pirlo and Xabi Alonso, as well as dribblers like Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, who are more akin to his natural game.
Despite his party-boy image, the 23-year-old Arsenal midfielder has a strong appetite to improve. He has impressed the England coaching staff with his willingness to commit to a role outside his comfort zone. He has started the last eight games when fit.
‘It’s the balance that’s important,’ said Wilshere. ‘Sometimes you have to shield and sometimes you have to press.
‘When we’re attacking, you’re backing up play but you’re trying to stop the counter-attack. You’re trying to read the position the ball will drop out in. That’s a big part of the role.’
Truer test lies ahead for the new generation and proposed friendlies against France, Spain, Holland and Germany will offer a better yardstick than this gentle qualifying group.
‘We don’t feel we’re the finished article yet,’ said Wilshere. ‘We’re beating teams that we should beat. But we’re playing well. Sometimes, we’re going behind and coming back, showing great character. We’re unbeaten in a season for the first time in 24 years.’ – Daily Mail
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