Arsenal’s Wilshere wants to emulate Lampard and Gerrard

Jack Wilshere set his sights on emulating the goal-scoring records of England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard after helping Arsenal win 2-1 at Aston Villa.

The Gunners playmaker broke the deadlock in the 34th minute with a composed finish past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan before teeing up Olivier Giroud for the north London side’s second on Monday night.

If you’re going to be one of them [an attacking midfielder], you need to create and score goals

Jack Wilshere

Wilshere has now scored four Premier League goals in his Arsenal career so far, and the 22-year-old is drawing inspiration from his England colleagues, Lampard and Gerrard, who
both have over 100 top-flight goals.

“I’m not really a defensive midfielder, I’d say I am an attacking midfielder so if you’re going to be one of them, you need to create and score goals,” Wilshere told Sky Sports.

“You’ve seen the best midfielders in the past, like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, and I looked at last season and I came back from injury and I really need to push on in this front this season.”

Wilshere feels his most effective position is in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield, and the England star revealed that Arsene Wenger agrees with his assessment.

“I spoke to the manager a few times and he thinks it is too,” he continued.

“In this team there’s great competition. As well, it’s important that we rotate a lot. We’ve done that this season.

“So sometimes I’m going to have to play wide or play in the middle but as long as the team is playing well and we’re getting three points, that’s all that matters.”