Wenger Insists That Wilshere Will Get Chances for Arsenal in Premier League
Arsene Wenger agreed with claims that Jack Wilshere deserves a run-out in the Premier League after his dominating performance in Arsenal's 1-0 victory against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday.
Arsenal couldn't break the deadlock until the 85th minute when their opponents were down to 10 men - but it was a magnificent Oliver Giroud overhead kick that brought all three points back to north London after great build-up play from Wilshere himself.
Speaking to the club's website, Wenger commented on Wilshere's famous fitness woes, saying: "He will get a chance in the Premier League, don’t worry about that. He got a big kick in the first half on his ankle but he managed to get through the 90 minutes and games of that intensity will, of course, help him a lot."
Red Star matched a largely second-string Arsenal side for the majority of the game, and the French manager was full of praise for his sides opponents.
"I felt that their team played with a high intensity, were very compact and overall the resistance was higher than I expected from them.
"They played very well in transitions when they won the ball back, they went always very quickly at us and overall, I must say, the intensity that they maintained for 90 minutes was remarkable."
However, Wenger did save some commendation for his own young side, adding: "I think what is remarkable is the spirit that we have shown today and fighting together in a game that was very physical.
"Petr Cech made some good saves and in the end we got a win that gives credit to the mentality of the team."
The win leaves Arsenal five points clear at the top of Group H and earned them their first European away clean sheet in almost two years.