Wenger hails Wilshere

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed teenage sensation Jack Wilshere to become a major player for the club in the mould of Dennis Bergkamp.

The 16-year-old became Arsenal's youngest ever player to play in the Premier League when he came off the bench against Blackburn earlier in the season.

The midfielder also scored his first senior goal for the Gunners against Championship side Sheffield United in this season's Carling Cup.

Now his boss is confident Wilshere, who has been at the club since the age of nine, has the ability to become a hero at the Emirates.

"I believe he will end up a central midfielder, just off the striker in the Bergkamp role," Wenger declared.

"I am convinced he will have a tremendous penetrative power and we forget that the boy is only 16 and already has so much power, you give him four more years and he will be massively strong.

"He can find the final ball and can also score goals. He is passionate and committed guy, he is not afraid of tackles and you want this type of player to finish off central."

The Gunners boss also warned against fans expecting too much of his latest prodigy, as is so often the case when youngsters come to the fore in this country.

"I would not like to put too much pressure on him because of the expectation level," he added.

"That is one of the problems you have when you are talented and very young, Theo Walcott went through that.

"At the start there is a lot of enthusiasm around players and suddenly afterwards people say 'oh he is not as good as we thought he would be' there is a lot of scepticism around the player.

"He has to survive at the top level and it is not easy. Theo coped well with that and I am confident we can surround Jack well enough to deal with it."
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