Wilshere Doesn’t Deserve To Play 90 Minutes Yet, Says Howe

Jack Wilshere does not quite deserve to play 90 minutes for Bournemouth yet, says manager Eddie Howe, who has also praised the midfielder for his “brave” decision to join the Cherries.

The 24-year-old made his first home start for Bournemouth on Saturday in their 1-0 win over Everton. Wilshere put in an impressive display before being substituted after 76 minutes and is yet to complete a full match for his new club.

Indeed the midfielder last played a full 90 minutes over two years ago in September 2014 in Arsenal’s 2-1 Capital One Cup third round defeat to Southampton. Yet Howe says he will wait on the midfielder’s fitness before deciding when he is ready to last a whole game.

“He’ll play 90 minutes the day that he deserves 90 minutes or he can play 90 minutes,” he said according to The Telegraph.

“At the moment I just want to manage his workload so that he stays fit. I think that’s really, really important for him and I think he recognises that and the most important thing isn’t Jack, it’s the team. The way he played today, he won’t be far away.”

Howe also praised Wilshere saying for his decision to make the move to Bournemouth and is confident he will benefit from the switch.

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“He’s picked a very brave decision for me,” he added. “He’s gone to a smaller club, he’s gone somewhere where there’s not everything here, there’s not everything done for him. It’s slightly old fashioned in the way that it’s like a step back in time for him compared with other Premier League clubs and I think he deserves a huge amount of credit for that.”

“I believe our environment can be good for him because the players work incredibly hard, they push themselves to improve and I think that’s a healthy environment for any footballer and that’s why I think he decided to come here ultimately.”

Wilshere’s display against Everton is a timely reminder of the midfielder’s quality and all at Arsenal will be hoping he can maintain form and fitness during his loan spell to reignite his career at the Emirates.