'He is a great player' - Alves urges Barcelona to sign Arsenal star Wilshere

19-Feb-2013 12:45:00 PM

Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song have all swapped the Emirates Stadium for Camp Nou in recent years, and the Brazilian believes the Gunners talisman should follow them

Barcelona should raid Arsenal once more to sign talismanic midfielder Jack Wilshere, according to Dani Alves.

Wilshere has been immense for the Gunners since returning from a 15-month injury layoff, making 23 appearances in all competitions, and is viewed as a beacon of hope by many of the club's disillusioned fans.

But Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song have all swapped the Emirates Stadium for Camp Nou in recent seasons, and Alves believes the 21-year-old should make the same move if he is to fulfil his potential.

"He is a great player who we have met playing against Arsenal and without doubt he can reach the height of the players we have here at Barcelona like Xavi and Iniesta," Alves told reporters.

"He has a lot of quality and a great personality. If I was given the chance to choose, he is a player that I would sign for Barcelona."

Wilshere once again attracted wider international attention with a man-of-the-match showing as England surprisingly recorded a deserved 2-1 victory over Brazil earlier this month.

Alves believes an experimental team selection by new Selecao boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was a factor in the result, although he insists no excuses can be made for the defeat.

"England are a historic team which is not going through its finest period," he continued. "But coming up against a rival like this is always difficult.

"Excuses are not valid in this sport but we had players from Brazil who haven’t played much at all. Because of these circumstances, I think we did a good job. There were good and bad things."

Inside Goal.Com

Player Ratings: West Brom 5-5 Man Utd
Sir Alex Ferguson was given a farewell to remember, but certainly not for the right reasons as the Romelu Lukaku-led hosts battled back from three goals down to earn an unlikely point
Player Ratings: Liverpool 1-0 QPR
The hosts put in a dominating performance but Philippe Coutinho's solitary goal from distance was enough to see off a poor performance from the already-relegated visitors
Player Ratings: Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal
Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley secured the Gunners the win over Alan Pardew's side and made sure they would be playing Champions League football next season
Transfer Talk: Read all the gossips
The Goal.com Rumour Mill is your 24/7 source for all the latest rumblings in the global transfer market.
Who is the greatest CL striker ever?
Enter our competition now and you will be in with a chance of winning one of four replica football shirts. Simply pick your favourite and subscribe to our YouTube channel