Jack Wilshere sets one-month deadline to earn Arsenal contract with return to Arsene Wenger‘s Premier League side
Gunners hero will consider quitting the Emirates if he is still sitting on the bench when the transfer window opens on his 26th birthday on New Year’s Day
JACK WILSHERE has given himself one month to force his way back into Arsenal’s Premier League team.
And he will seriously consider quitting the Emirates if he is still sitting on the subs’ bench when the transfer window opens on his 26th birthday on New Year’s Day.
Wilshere has been told he will not be included in Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad if he is only playing in the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
He has grown increasingly frustrated at his lack of Premier League involvement after battling back from two years of injury problems.
And now he wants some straight answers from Arsene Wenger about exactly where he figures in the manager’s plans for the rest of the season.
Wilshere, who is rapidly approaching the final six months of his £90,000-a-week contract, says: “We’ve got a month before the transfer window and me and the boss will have a conversation about my future before then.
“I don’t have to say how much this club means to me and how good they have been to me for the last ten years. But time is running out on my contract and the boss has got to be honest with me.
“I want to play in the Premier League so of course I am frustrated but it’s a difficult side to get into because the team is playing so well.
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“I spoke with the boss in the summer and he told me what I needed to do.
“I’ve basically been injured for two seasons. I haven’t been at Arsenal, fit and feeling as good as I do physically for a good couple of years.
“Now I am fit, I am training every day and happy to be playing in Europe and in the Carabao Cup.
“But it’s difficult when you only play every three weeks and now I want to play as much as I can.
“I have got myself as fit as I can, I have played a few games now and I’m ready to play more. But that is down to the boss. I’m ready and waiting. I just need to be picked.”
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Wilshere, who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, has started all five of Arsenal’s Europa League games this season and also featured in the Carabao Cup wins against Doncaster and Norwich.
But he has managed just 25 minutes of Premier League action as a sub against Everton and Manchester City and expects to be back on the bench for Sunday’s trip to Burnley.
Part of his frustration stems from the fact that Wenger will only consider him in attacking role, which leaves him in direct competition with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, while Southgate only wants him as a holding midfielder.
That much was made clear the other week when Wilshere was ignored for the recent friendlies against Germany and Brazil despite the absence of most of England’s senior midfield players.
“I haven’t spoken to Gareth Southgate,” he reveals. “My phone is always on if he wants to call me and he’s got my number but he hasn’t rung me yet.
“He said in the press that he wants me to be playing regularly in the Arsenal team and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“He also said that he doesn’t regard me as a number ten so if he sees me in a deeper position, that’s where I have to play.
“To be honest, that is probably my favourite position, so I can see where he’s coming from.
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“Arsene Wenger knows I can play there but at the moment I’m playing a bit higher here at Arsenal and it’s not down to me.
“I don’t want to force things too much because there are a lot of games coming up in the next few weeks and the situation can change very quickly.
“The boss has rotated a lot for the midweek games and we have three important Premier League fixtures coming up in seven days.
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“The only reason I first broke into the team all those years ago was because Diaby and Fabregas were both injured and the boss put his faith in me.
“Sometimes you need a lucky break and then you can fight to keep your position.”
That break needs to come sooner rather than later for Jack Wilshere. He can’t afford to hang around for much longer.