Arsenal vs. Marseille: Right Wing Is Currently the Right Place for Jack Wilshere

Emirates Stadium, London

Jack Wilshere was Arsenal’s best player against Marseille—and he managed that whilst supposedly playing out of position.

There is a preconception in English football that talented footballers shouldn’t be put out to pasture on the wing. It was even briefly suggested that Wayne Rooney almost left Manchester United because Sir Alex Ferguson had the temerity to field him on the flank in an important match against Real Madrid.

It’s nonsense.

You only ever hear such cries of disbelief when it's an English player pushed out on to the wing. There is never any uproar when creative talents such as Santi Cazorla, David Silva and Eden Hazard are regularly deployed on the flanks.

Andres Iniesta, one of the greatest creative midfielders of his generation, has spent long spells playing from the left at Barcelona. The idea that playing on the wing is some kind of punishment is a myth.

It’s a position that’s not entirely unfamiliar to Wilshere. He made his first start for the Arsenal senior team on the right wing. It came in a league cup tie against Sheffield United in 2008. Arsenal ran out 6-0 winners and Wilshere was outstanding. 

On that night, Wilshere resembled a young Lionel Messi, jinking inside on to his favoured left foot. His nimble dribbling was every bit as eye-catching as his incisive passing.

At the time, Wenger opted to play Wilshere there to protect a 16-year-old prodigy from the tumult of the centre. Five years on, he is benefiting from the same strategic decision.

Wilshere has started each of Arsenal’s last two games on the right and been excellent in both. He does not confine himself to the flank, regularly rotating position with the likes of Mesut Ozil and drifting infield.  

Some players might be disheartened by being played "out of position." Not Wilshere: He has thrown himself in to the role with typical gusto. What’s more, he is flourishing away from the congestion of the centre.

When he plays in the middle, Wilshere’s weak ankles are frequently rapped by opposition tackles. Out wide, he has more space and subsequently more protection. Wenger is safeguarding a gifted yet vulnerable talent.

From the first whistle, Wilshere was the outstanding player on the pitch. Indeed, it only took 30 seconds for his class to show, when he cut inside from the right to bend a ball in to the corner with his left foot. It was Wilshere’s third goal of the season: The signs are that he is beginning to add goals to his game.

He grabbed the second goal, too. Mesut Ozil, who visibly raised his game after a poor penalty attempt was saved, squared and Wilshere gleefully struck home the second.

His performance even led The Times’ Matt Dickinson to suggest that Roy Hodgson might consider fielding Wilshere from the right for England:

Wilshere’s best position may ultimately be in the middle but for now playing out wide affords him protection and a degree of tactical freedom.

Playing on the right wing has finally put Wilshere on the right path.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013/14 season. Follow him on Twitter here.