Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Jack Wilshere: Tracking Man United's Wayne Rooney key for Arsenal

Jack Wilshere admits Arsenal have to watch out for Manchester United's in-form captain Wayne Rooney on Saturday.

Wilshere and Rooney have been England colleagues over the last 10 days but come up against each other in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

The United and England skipper scored three goals in the games against Slovenia and Scotland, taking his tally for his country to 46 and giving Arsenal midfielder Wilshere a chance to see how well he is playing.

And the 22-year-old said part of Arsenal's problem is knowing where Rooney, who has operated in midfield in United's last two games but plays as a striker for England, will feature.

"He looks sharp and in form," he told national newspapers. "We'll have to look at how to deal with that on Saturday because he's going to be a problem for us, especially if he plays in the No. 10 role. Or even if he plays up front.

"He's got a few goals this international break and I'm sure he'll be looking to continue that so we'll have to stop him."

Rooney brought up a century of caps for England against Slovenia but Wilshere believes he still has the enthusiasm to perform at a high level.

He added: "The main thing about Wazza is his love for the game. He still has that hunger. He's been playing now for 12 years at the top level and to still have that hunger and the quality that matters, he's still one of our best players if not the best.

"You can see that when we go into games, we're looking to him to get the goals and he's still delivering.

"He loves training. He's always the first out for training. He's just a proper footballer. He's never in the gym, he just wants to play the game because he loves it. He just wants the ball at his feet and long may that continue for England."

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