When asked about his greatest moment in journalism, Piers Morgan recently opted for his front page Daily Mirror headline that read: “Arsenal win the World Cup”. It came after Gunners legend Patrick Vieira played in club teammate Emanuel Petit to slot home and make it 3-0 to France in their 1998 World Cup final against Brazil. Arsenal have a long and illustrious history of sending star talent to thrive at the World Cup: Cesc Fabregas teeing up Andres Iniesta for the extra-time winner in the 2010 final, Gilberto Silva acting as the screen for the victorious Brazil team, Dennis Bergkamp lighting up the tournament with his brilliance.
The current crop has struggled over the last couple of years, but the squad is still packed with exceptional talent, and fans can look forward to seeing several Gunners in action at this summer’s World Cup. Here are the top five to look out for:
Granit Xhaka
The Swiss has regularly frustrated Arsenal fans due to his poor timing in the tackle, lack of discipline and wayward passing. He does not appear to be the holding midfielder the Gunners have so badly needed ever since Gilberto left, but he becomes a different animal for Switzerland. The Swiss are ranked eighth in the world by FIFA and Xhaka is the beating heart of their midfield, setting the tempo for their play and exerting his influence on games. He won a couple of man of the match awards for them at Euro 2016, and he will be a key cog in the engine room in Russia this summer. Switzerland defend superbly and are an interesting dark horse to watch out for, so fans should be able to see plenty of Xhaka.
Alex Iwobi
Another Arsenal star that divides opinion is Iwobi, recently chastised for staying up late at a party the night before the Gunners’ dismal FA Cup defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest. He is inconsistent and has a habit of going missing in games, but fans are often treated to flashes of his vast potential. When on song, he can extremely effective attacking force, a terrifying blend of pace, movement, strength and intelligent passing. If he can discover consistency he can nail down a place in the Arsenal starting line-up, but he is already one of the first names on the Nigeria team sheet. He scored twice as Nigeria beat Argentina in a recent friendly, and the nation’s hopes will rest somewhat on his shoulders. He is certainly a more exciting player than teammate Mohamed Elneny, who will be turning out for Egypt, and he could put together an interesting highlights reel in Russia.
Jack Wilshere
There are absolutely no guarantees that Wilshere will be jetting off to Russia, but if he is fit it would be churlish for Gareth Southgate to leave him at home. His career thus far has sadly been hampered by ankle injuries, but when operating at his peak he has put in several match-winning performances for England.
No other English midfielder is anywhere close to matching him when it comes to displaying dynamism, creativity and positivity in the centre of the park. Tottenham’s Eric Dier should get the nod as holding midfielder, with teammate Dele Alli in the hole behind Harry Kane, but someone needs to slot in alongside Dier. The rival candidates are uninspiring.
Jordan Henderson is not inventive in his passing and neither is Jake Livermore. They often pass sideways, while Wilshere typically looks for the forward pass. Harry Winks is not yet the finished article, ditto Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Chelsea’s Danny Drinkwater does not exactly set the pulses racing, while Ross Barkley has not played in a long time.
At the very least Wilshere, who was named man of the match in six out of the seven Euro 2016 qualifiers he featured in, should be good for a place in the squad. But if Southgate has any ambition of troubling the latter stage of the tournament, he needs a player of Wilshere’s positivity and flair starting in the middle of the park. The likes of Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Calum Chambers are unlikely to make the squad, but Wilshere should be one of the first names on it.
Mesut Ozil
Ozil is in the final months of his contract at Arsenal, but he remains their best player at the moment. The Premier League has arguably never seen such a graceful, elegant, intelligent footballer.
The way he creates space for himself on the pitch is beautiful, almost poetic, and he has a wonderful eye for a pass. He too has a habit of drifting out of games and upsetting fans with his nonchalant body language, but he is not always given credit for the amount of grass he covers in 90 minutes on the pitch. When at his best, operating in the gaps between midfield and defence, pulling the strings and conducting the orchestra like a virtuoso, he is devastating, unplayable even. He won the World Cup with Germany in 2014 and they are favourites to defend their crown this summer. Ozil, who has been named German Player of the Year in five of the last six years, will be certain of a starting berth in what is a phenomenally talented side.
Olivier Giroud
Germany may be favourites to win the World Cup, but France look extremely strong and will attract a great deal of attention in the World Cup spread betting markets.
A team featuring N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba in midfield, with Hugo Lloris in goal, Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti in defence, and the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann going forwards is surely the team to beat in Russia this summer. It is remarkable then that Giroud, who cannot get in the Arsenal team, is a virtual ever present for Les Bleus. Alexandre Lacazette keeps him out of the Gunners’ starting 11, but that man will be on the bench for France and Giroud will lead the line.
Manager Didier Deschamps is a fan of the big man-little man partnership up top and the international demise of Karim Benzema leaves Giroud as the country’s best option as a target man. To be fair, it is a role he fills with aplomb, as he makes up for a lack of pace with superb hold-up play, amazing aerial ability and excellent composure on the ball. France really should make the latter stages of the tournament and Arsenal may well win the World Cup once more.
