Jack Wilshere has finally announced that he is leaving Arsenal and its safe to say fans have reacted in very different ways.
Many feel devastated that a player who has been at the club 17 years is now being pushed out of the club by new manager Unai Emery.
A fan favourite, the feisty midfielder has split opinion among critics with Roy Keane describing the Englishman as “probably the most overrated player on the planet.”
This view is directly opposed by Former premier league champion Gary Neville who described Wilshere as
“He’s the best English midfield player by a street,”
“I worked with all of the English midfield players for four years and he could play in any single team in this country and live in that team or any single team in Europe, he is that good.”
Immediately you see the stark contrast in opinion and this is present among fans too.
Arsenal fan Max from London claimed
“I think all the fans will miss Wilshere and we’re all upset to see him go, but it might be the right move for the team going forward”
Arsene Wenger placed a huge amount of faith in Jack Wilshere, with the 26-year-old playing 38 games last season after several years of injuries and fans were appreciating the creative and passionate football that this led to.
This is the first big departure from the Gunners under Unai Emery and will definitely go down as a controversial move.
Whether you agree with the move and feel it is time to move on for Jack or believe he could’ve been a star in the coming seasons for the Gunners, I think it’s safe to say we will all miss the passion and emotion that he brought to the team.
In 2011 Wilshere said:
“Arsenal means everything to me. I’ve been here since I was nine and I love the Club.”
Jack represented more than just a football player, he showed that in an age of big money transfers and teams run like businesses, there are still some players who just want to play the game. It will be a long time before we see another player like him.
