John Hartson suggested Jack Wilshere should be playing further forward for West Ham as he was ineffective playing in his current role.
The BT Sports pundit shared that 5ft 6in tall midfielder (Source: Transfermarkt) would perform better in a more attacking role as he has the ability to play accurate passes to the Hammers’ forwards.
Hartson shared that he thought Wilshere couldn’t be expected to track back to aid his side’s cause as he can’t cover that much ground.
“With Wilshere you’ve to play him further up the pitch as that’s where he is most effective,” stated the pundit on BT Sport Score, which can be seen in a clip uploaded to the broadcaster’s website.
“I don’t think he covers the ground anymore, you can’t expect him to track back and then get up.
“I think Jack Wilshere is a forward minded player, he threads those little passes through with the right weight of pass and I think he has got to play further up the pitch.
“He’s not that effective when he gets the ball off the back four (responding to Robbie Savage’s response that his current role in 4-2-3-1 formation suits him), he’s not doing anything there.
“His best position is being a threat in the final third.”
OPINION
Hartson has publicly spoken a few times about Wilshere since his arrival at the London Stadium and it’s clear to see the pundit rates the midfielder’s talent. However it’s also hard to disagree with the pundit that the 26-year-old has been ineffective for the Hammers so far. Wilshere seems stuck between deciding whether he is a defensive-minded midfielder or a player capable of chipping in with the goals for his side by registering assists or scoring himself. Savage responded to Hartson’s suggestion for the Hammers midfielder by stating that Wilshere’s goal and assist record hardly suggests his best position is further up the field. It’s hard to argue with Savage on this point as Wilshere has only registered 20 Premier League assists, while scoring just eight, in his career despite playing 169 times in England’s top-flight. If Manuel Pellegrini ends up agreeing with Hartson about Wilshere’s position in his team then it’s clear that the midfielder has to dramatically improve his numbers in order to be regularly chosen to feature.
