Arsenal's famed Hale End academy is a picture of health right now and it may well have produced one of the best young talents English football has ever seen.
Indeed, after Max Dowman became the Premier League's youngest-ever scorer ten days ago, he was being compared to not just Wayne Rooney, but also Lionel Messi.
The 16-year-old looks like a generational talent and is ready to take the world by storm in the coming years.
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It's safe to say he's following in the footsteps of some mighty fine talents before him, most notably Bukayo Saka but also Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly who rose to fame last term.
Their stardom has been inspired by Jack Wilshere, who actually coached Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly and Dowman post-playing career when he returned to the Emirates Stadium.
In Wilshere, they arguably had no better mentor, even if his career ended prematurely.
What went wrong for Jack Wilshere at Arsenal
While Dowman may well be the current poster boy of the academy, cast your mind back to 2008 and it was Wilshere who was causing a stir.
He made his debut aged 16 years and 256 days, subsequently becoming the youngest player to feature for them in the Premier League. That was until Nwaneri and Co came around.
|Arsenal's youngest debutants - all comps|
|Player|Age at debut|
|---|
|#1 Ethan Nwaneri|15 years, 5 months, 28 days|
|#2 Max Dowman|15 years, 7 months, 23 days|
|#3 Jack Porter|16 years, 2 months, 10 days|
|#4 Marli Salmon|16 years, 3 months, 11 days|
|#5 Cesc Fabregas|16 years, 5 months, 24 days|
|#6 Jack Wilshere|16 years, 8 months, 12 days|
|#7 Jermaine Pennant|16 years, 10 months, 15 days|
|#8 Paul Vaessen|16 years, 11 months, 11 days|
|#9 Ryan Smith|16 years, 11 months, 18 days|
|#10 Gedion Zelalem|16 years, 11 months, 29 days|
Wilshere was part of a rare breed of player. He was not your archetypal English midfielder. He had grace, he had flair; something of a Spanish technique.
Based on that, it was perhaps not a surprise when he dominated Barcelona in the Champions League as a teenager, nor was it a surprise when he caught the eye of one of the greatest to ever play the game.
jack-wilshere-arsenal-academy-edu-arteta-myles-lewis-skelly-manager
Indeed, speaking back in 2015, Xavi Hernandez said of Wilshere: "With all respect, he doesn’t play the English way. He has an excellent passing range, an ability not to lose the ball, it is clear that he has had his education at Arsenal."
Xavi continued: "For many years now the one position England have not struggled with is world-class midfield players. Scholes, and then more recently Lampard and Gerrard. Now I see Wilshere as the future of English football."
Sadly, while the midfielder did earn 34 caps for his country, he never reached the dizzy heights that Xavi and many predicted for him.
Wilshere had this exceptionally canny way of operating, dancing past players and weaving through them with ease. He was one of the best talents England have produced but he just couldn't stay fit, perhaps paying the price for playing an extraordinary amount of football at young age. More on that in a bit.
jack-wilshere-arsenal
Leaving Arsenal behind in 2018, he did so having played 197 times for the Gunners. In that time, he endured injury hell, missing a whopping 151 games through injury, which were primarily ankle problems.
He suffered an ankle fracture at the age of 19 and by the time he saw the same surgeon again, aged 25, he was told they had predicted that he might not play again.
So, after spells with Bournemouth, boyhood club West Ham and AGF in Sweden, he announced his retirement from playing in 2022, aged just 30. It's perhaps one of the greatest what-if stories in football.
That said, it remains a cautionary tale for Arsenal, particularly as it looks like the same situation may well be unfolding at the Emirates in 2026.
Arsenal's new Wilshere may be emerging
Wilshere's story is a really sad one. He looked like England and Arsenal's next great hope. In another reality, aged 34, he is still playing for club and country.
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The fact of the matter is that while the midfielder was incredibly injury-prone, he was not protected enough as a young player.
By the time he was 21, he had already played 119 senior games of football and that number would have been far more had he not suffered the first of his ankle injuries as a teenager.
Why is this relevant in the modern-day? Well, supporters are now understandably starting to worry about a certain Saka.
Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal (2)
Like Wilshere, Saka broke through as a teenager and was an instant hit, described as a "legend in the making" by scout Jacek Kulig. He's played a huge amount of football in recent years and given his quality and output, it is hardly a surprise.
Indeed, in each of the last three seasons, he's hit over 25 goal contributions. The wide man not just been one of the best players in the country, but also one of the best wingers in European football over the last few years.
Bukayo Saka goals and assists per season (timeless)
That said, Saka's performances are deteoriating and his numbers are steadily decreasing as the months go by. After going goalless against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, the Englishman has now scored just twice in his last 24 matches.
The nadir of his campaign was undoubtedly that first leg against Bayer Leverkusen a few weeks ago when the number 7 was withdrawn from the action on the hour mark, having delivered a performance in which he won just two of his eight duels, failed to produce a key pass or complete a dribble.
Saka was again disappointing in the League Cup final last Sunday and it begs the question, will he ever rediscover his mojo?
Saka-Trossard-Arsenal
There is a case to be made that since suffering a hamstring injury last term that required surgery and kept him out for three months, he has not been the same player. He's lacking the same incisiveness that made him so exciting; he's also missing the explosiveness that made him such a tricky player to contain.
Do Arsenal have another Wilshere situation on their hands? That might be pushing it a bit, but there are parallels. Like Wilshere, Saka is suffering from a repeated bout of various niggling problems, particularly this term. At the beginning of the season, he missed 26 days with another hamstring problem and missed another 13 days at the beginning of February with a hip issue.
Why has this occurred? Well, mismanagement has to play a part. Saka has been such an important part of this Arsenal squad but they have neglected finding someone to play back-up to the 24-year-old.
Like Wilshere, he's simply played too much football that you can begin to categorise him in the Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney category too.
Selected players - senior games by the age of 21
Player
1) Wayne Rooney
2) Michael Owen
3) Bukayo Saka
4) Jack Wilshere
Only seven players, Cesc Fabregas, Rooney, James Milner, Raheem Sterling, Chris Bart-Williams, Owen and Robbie Fowler made more Premier League appearances than Saka (103) by the time they had turned 21.
In the case of Rooney, while he had immense longevity, he lost his explosive nature in his late 20s, while Owen's wretched injury record and fall from grace is well documented too. As is Wilshere's who is perhaps the worst case of the lot here.
While we're not suggesting Saka may have to call time on his career at a similarly early age, the history told Arsenal that they needed to be more careful with their prized asset.
The wide man may well rediscover himself in the back end of the campaign but it's hard to dispute that he has looked off the pace for a while now.
He's played too much football and Arsenal are now paying the price. After the international break, it may well be time to take him out of the firing line. Noni Madueke deserves a few games to show what he can do instead.
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