UK Edition
Jack Wilshere certain he will sign new Arsenal contract
Jack Wilshere is now certain that he will sign a new contract at Arsenal after manager Arsene Wenger finally scheduled formal talks with his midfielder for the beginning of next month.
Wilshere delivered arguably his best Arsenal performance since his first major injury back in 2011 during their 3-2 win against Crystal Palace and Wenger said that the 25-year-old was now back to his best.
Having joined Arsenal at the age of nine, Wilshere has always wanted to stay and fight for his place but his situation seemed ominous earlier in the year when he returned from a season on loan at Bournemouth with a broken leg and then struggled to establish himself in the first-team.
An injury to Aaron Ramsey has provided a prolonged opportunity in the Premier League and, while final details on the length and financial scale of the contract are far from agreed, there is a growing confidence on all sides.
“I have spoken to the boss and he says he will speak to me – I’m sure it will get done,” said Wilshere. A date for talks has been scheduled after next Wednesday’s Premier League match against Chelsea when Wilshere will almost certainly be rested for Arsenal’s FA Cup third round match against Nottingham Forest.
“It’s planned - there is no delay,” said Wenger. “Jack is coming back into competitive shape. He gives something to the team at the moment, and gave a good final ball for the third goal.”
Alexis Sanchez is also out of contract next summer and scored twice, but there is now no real expectation that he will sign a new deal amid interest from Manchester City and Paris St Germain. The lack of Arsenal players who congratulated Sanchez on Arsenal’s second goal was highlighted by Sky Sports, with pundits Thierry Henry and Graeme Souness questioning the team’s spirit. Souness said that it suggested the dressing-room was “divided”.
Wenger flatly denied having any splits in the squad and confirmed that Sanchez had been out of country after being given two days off over Christmas. It was put to him that his star striker had been seen in Paris. “Sanchez met his family somewhere but not in Chile,” said Wenger.
“He was focused on the game - that's the kind of performance we want from him. We showed spirit and commitment. I am not fearful [of him leaving] but that will be a subject that arises because of his contractual situation.”
Wilfried Zaha was booked for Crystal Palace after his angry protests to referee Michael Oliver for a first-half penalty. “I think he felt hard done,” said his manager, Roy Hodgson. “He was bundled over once or twice. I wasn't creating as much fuss as Wilf was, but I wasn't the one being bundled over. He did well to calm down at half-time to make sure any injustice he might have felt was channelled into his performance. He caused them a lot of problems and a lot of the half-chances we were creating were with him at the centre."