Arsene Wenger feels that midfielder Jack Wilshere has finally silenced his critics after scoring a goal in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City. The media have been extremely critical of the 22-year-old England international, despite having hailed was one of the greatest prospects for England since the days of Wayne Rooney. Wilshere, for his part, has also been called in a number of scandals like smoking cigarettes. This is certainly not helped his performances, as the midfielder has been consistently overshadowed by the likes of Aaron Ramsey even within Arsenal.

The midfielder, though, returned to form with a sublime finish against City on Saturday that finally appeared to show the quality within their shoulders. Wenger has been extremely protective of his star player in the last few months. The Frenchman even failed to discuss about will have publicly when he was caught smoking for the second time in the space of a few months. Wilshere’s goal was of extreme importance, as its absence would have seen Arsenal suffer a defeat for the first time this season. Even though Arsenal have been involved in several draws in the early stages of this league campaign, a defeat against one of their title rivals will be very disappointing for the morale of the team.

“The best place to answer critics is on the pitch. That’s what Jack did, but I don’t believe we can explain his good performance through the criticism of Paul Scholes. But you have to respond to critics when you’re in a public job. You have accept criticism, go on the pitch and show you have the talent. The most important thing is to go show how good you are. Jack finished with his right foot and chipped a goalkeeper who knows him well,” said Wenger, who also defended German international Mesut Ozil after a poor performance.