News

Wilshere - We'll do whatever it takes

Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere

Jack Wilshere says Arsenal will do "whatever it takes" to beat Everton at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

Arsene Wenger's team will stretch their lead over fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur to four points and move a further three points clear of David Moyes' side with a win on Tuesday night.

Everton could move into the top four themselves with victory and Wilshere is expecting another tough test.

"They’ve got good players, can hit you on the counter-attack, have a strong midfield and are hard to break down"

Jack WIlshere

"Everton are a very good team," Wilshere said. "It’s an especially hard game when you go to Goodison Park, but even when they come here you know what you’re in for.

"They’ve got good players, can hit you on the counter-attack, have a strong midfield and are hard to break down. They are four points behind us, so it’s massive that we come into it after winning on Saturday.

"When we were 1-0 down you were thinking “We’ll take a point here, just get something out of it”, so to get three points was huge. It put us up to third and kept us clear of Everton, who won as well and are on a good run. We need to win, we know that, and we’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it."

The Toffees include England internationals Leighton Baines and Leon Osman in their ranks, and Wilshere feels the midfield battle will be particularly crucial if Arsenal are to pick up another important three points.

"I’ve liked Leon Osman for years, I think he’s a great player," Wilshere said. "He’s in the mould of Iniesta in that he can drift past players, has a great touch and is very underrated.

"For me, he’s a top class player and they’ll be dangerous tomorrow in there, especially with Fellaini as well and Gibson, who’s got a great strike on him. The midfield battle is going to be key, and if we can come out of that on top then we feel we can win the game.

"Leighton Baines is a great footballer, a natural. He’s not the quickest but, again, he drifts past players and links up well with Pienaar down that wing.

"It’s something we have to be wary of. But we’ve watched them before and just have to stop them doing what they’re good at. But look, we’re at home and have to take the game to them. If we play our game, pass and move, we know we can beat anyone."