Young Jack Wilshere, Early Doors.

Anyone who saw the results or headlines from the two preseason Emirates Cup games will no doubt be impressed with the 17 year old Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere. He was easily Man Of The Match in both games, including scoring 2 against Rangers, the second of which was a glorious rising drive on the half-volley into the top corner. Not a bad way to perform in front of the England manager Fabio Capello, who was watching in the stands.

Wilshere had a great Emirates Cup and is very much in the Arsenal mould of player, with 2 good feet, and good passing and movement. The newspaper headlines are full of his praises, and it may be easy to consider him as an option in your fantasy squad.

While his potential is undoubted, what remains to be seen is whether he will get enough starts in an already packed Arsenal midfield. If he can get a run of games, he could be a snip at £5m. However, all indications is that this looks unlikely.

Wenger has experimented with a 4–3–2–1 formation in pre-season and with captain Cesc Fábregas certain to be one of the regulars, competition would come from Alex Song, Denilson, Abou Diaby and Aaron Ramsey. It is a tough midfield to crack, even with Wilshere's obvious talent.

Arsenal do have a schedule of 5 games in 15 days however, so it is possible he could form part of a rotation policy. However, Wenger's thoughts on how much Wilshere will play this season:

“I don’t know how much he will play. I speeded him up, I put him at 16 years of age in the dressing room and gave him a chance to practice everyday with the first-team players. If I had taken him out of the youth team now you would not have seen what you have seen today. That means he has benefited a lot from special treatment and an acceleration of his education because he plays for one year with the first team. But how many games? I don’t know. The only problem in England is knowing the impatience of the people is that it will be difficult to keep the right pace in his progress.

“Could he play the whole Premier League campaign? Certainly not. He is physically strong because he has a strong body, Jack. It’s difficult to predict.”

Gametime is the cornerstone on which EPL fantasy football points are accrued. If Wilshere is not starting games for Arsenal then he shouldnt be in your starting 11, and your subs should all be playing at least 75 minutes regularly so they can provide points when needed. Young Wilshere is a definate talent and a huge prospect for the future of the England squad, but for this season's fantasy league he is not worth buying at this early stage. Squad injuries may open the window to him throughout the season, but preseason he is too great of a gamble.