Pelle faces Wilshere v Rice conundrum
The former Arsenal man has failed to make any impact for the Irons since arriving in the summer amid big write-ups from boss Manuel Pelligrini.
The manager – making it clear he was very much his ‘pick’ in the summer has even been moved to compare him with Italian Andre Pirlo claiming he has very much the same sort of attributes.
And it seems highly likely that he was left out of the clash against AFC Wimbledon to ensure there was no problem with his fitness for Saturday given his injury record.
Declan Rice also made a big claim for inclusion in the team with a fine performance in the Cup match and although he may miss out this weekend looks set to become Wilshere’s long term midfield challenger.
The manager now sees him very much as a midfielder rather than a central dfender where there is now sufficient options and in emergency Rive could be used in the back line.