Frank Lampard: Arsenal star Jack Wilshere can show why he must go to the World Cup

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Top talent | Jack can show why he must go to World Cup
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Frank Lampard3 April 2018

As Arsenal prepare to take on CSKA Moscow in the Europa League, Jack Wilshere must keep believing he will go to Russia with the England World Cup squad.

It was unfortunate he missed the last two friendlies through injury, but I believe a run of form will get Wilshere on the plane. In terms of games left in the season, there is still a long way to go and a lot can happen.

Just look at Dele Alli. There was a lot of talk about his England place last week and now it’s changed because of what he did against Chelsea.

It’s up for grabs for everybody. For example, ahead of Euro 2004, I’d hardly played an England game, but I finished the campaign well at Chelsea and ended up starting in Portugal. That was great timing for me.

The door is always open for someone who makes those kind of late runs of personal form.

Jack will know that he is one of the players who is a question mark for the World Cup. His injury issues have put him in that bracket. But on talent alone and the way he’s played this season, then I think he will make the squad because he offers a continuity in midfield that England are not flushed with. He likes to get on the ball and keep possession.

Arsenal should prove too strong for CSKA but it’s important they get a good lead at home on Thursday before the tough trip to Moscow next week.

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