Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is eyeing captaining the club in the future as well as for his country which he believes is the pinnacle achievement in football.
The 21-year-old will sit out England’s upcoming friendlies against Republic of Ireland and Brazil with a minor ankle ankle surgery on the horizon, sidelining him for at least two weeks.
Arsene Wenger nurtured his prized assest over the past couple of months, limiting his involvement in the clubs impressive run-in after news emerged that he would require surgery to make adjustments to the screws that were inserted into his right foot.
The star midfielder, who has been heralded as England’s saviour, has expressed his passion for playing for The Three Lions and has made a bold statement by declaring his ambition is to become the captain of both England and Arsenal.
He told The Sun:
I want to captain Arsenal and I want to captain England. That definitely appeals to me. It’s my ultimate dream. People say players are no longer bothered about wearing the England shirt.
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But for me it’s the pinnacle of my job because club rivalries go out of the window and the entire nation comes together behind you – it’s the best feeling.
England have a fantastic captain in Steven Gerrard and I assume Wayne Rooney is the next in line. We’ve got a lot of big characters — but if I was ever offered the chance to captain England it’d be the ultimate honour.
The England international may miss England’s next two matches however he expects to return to the international stage for the friendly against Scotland this August.
He continued:
I’m having an operation this week to deal with the irritating scar tissue caused by the screws, but it’s a minor process and I’ll only be rested up for a fortnight.
Wilshere will not have to wait too long to become Arsenal captain with Vermaelen’s future not 100% certain and his ability to captain under scrutiny. The Gunners have a lot of leaders in their squad so the Englishman needn’t be rushed into wearing the armband, but the fact he is eyeing such a role for the club shows his dedication to staying a Gunner for life.
He also has the unique opportunity at overtaking David O’Leary’s 722 appearance record, in which the Irishman would love to see Wilshere break
O’Leary begun his Highbury career as an 18-year-old and racked up the most amount of appearances than any other player. While he wants his record to stand for as long as possible, it would give him great pride should Wilshere achieve the feat as he believes he is a ‘tremendous player’.
The former centre back told Arsenal.com:
I’d love to be proved wrong but I just can’t see my record being beaten.
It’s a lot of games. When you look at the numbers I think we were averaging 50 games a season. I didn’t think it was a big deal, that was what you had to do, you had to play two or three times a week.
It’s hard to see someone going past my appearances but records are there to be broken and if it is I would be delighted if it’s someone like Jack, because then I will know that a tremendous player – who I am sure will improve and improve – played at Arsenal for a long time. And that can only benefit the Club.
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