Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney. What do they have in common? They are all England internationals, who have been at the heart of their team's success.
Arsenal have not had an English player who has been the heartbeat of the team, capable of leading the side, since Tony Adams. Until now.
Step up Jack Wilshere, who with his wizardry against Brazil, showed he really belongs at the biggest stage.
Sure, the above mentioned players are not world beaters, have not won titles with their country; but they were instrumental in driving success for their clubs, because at the end of the day, regardless of the influx of players across the world - it is the English Premier League.
You need a player who lives to see his club succeed; who has wanted to play for the club since he was a little kid; and more importantly who has the drive to win titles. Wilshere ticks all those boxes.
Arsenal's success in the early 2000s was driven by the likes of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, who, under a French manager in Arsene Wenger, made the club their own. That does not happen too often and increasingly less now in this money-driven sport.
It was a moment of genius or destiny that they all came together and played for the Arsenal, and fell in love with the club.
As Wenger has painfully found out over the past few years, that loyalty cannot be expected anymore from players, especially if you are not winning anything and/or not offering the same amount of money as the other clubs.
Cue "Plan B" -- by tying down a core of British players and building the team around them. Now, why didn't Wenger do this earlier? Because he did not have the necessary talent available at Arsenal and there were not as many technically gifted English players being produced around the country in the 90s as there is now.
Wilshere is the epitome of what a fan wants to see in a player of the club or country that they support. Passionate, driven and talented all in one.
Arsenal fans have known for some time that Wilshere was their club's future, and everything was going to be built around him.
Now, England have seen what can be achieved with Wilshere -- who is still only 21 don't forget - running the midfield, like he did against one of the most successful teams in the world in Brazil.
In any sport, there are these intangibles which separate the greats from the rest. Whether it is the penchant to score the crucial goal in the last minute to steal a victory, or the ability to make every single player around you better, these are qualities that cannot be taught.
Wilshere already is Arsenal's most important player. He was the only one who seemed to be doing something to try and curb the deplorable Arsenal performance in the first half against Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, and he is the first one to hold his hands up and take responsibility, like he did in that F.A. Cup third round replay against Swansea.
Here at Wembley, Wilshere was the standout player in a game which included a multiple world player of the year award winner, a man tipped to be a winner in the future, and the current England player of the year, to just name a few.
Of course, it was just a friendly, and it is easy to get carried away. But the little playmaker has shown it time and again for Arsenal this season. His next club challenge will come against Bayern Munich.
Arsenal have not been given a sliver of a chance against the German giants; however, the Gunners, and indeed England, have a little gem in Wilshere who just might make the difference between despair and ecstasy.
