Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere rejoins his team-mates for training after missing pre-season tour as he heads for Emirates Stadium exit
- Jack Wilshere may be set to leave but he still has plenty of friends at Arsenal
- The England international returned to first team training on Wednesday
- Wilshere continues to recover from broken leg suffered on loan at Bournemouth
Jack Wilshere has returned to full training following the leg break he suffered at the end of last season.
The Arsenal midfielder, who is free to leave the club this summer, missed the pre-season tour to Australia and China as he continued his recovery from the fracture suffered at Tottenham Hotspur during the closing weeks of last season.
The England international has returned to full training back at the club’s London Colney HQ, and remains hopeful of forcing his way back into manager Arsene Wenger’s plans, despite the fact he was allowed to leave the club on loan to Bournemouth last summer.
Jack Wilshere may be set to leave but the midfielder will still have plenty of friends at Arsenal
The England international returned to first team training with the Gunners on Wednesday
Wilshere continues to recover from a broken leg suffered on loan at Bournemouth last season
The midfielder knows he is unlikely to be given regular game time next season, but it remains to be seen whether he leaves or sees out the final year of his contract.
Wilshere may be set to leave the Emirates Stadium with one year left on his contract, but the midfielder will still have plenty of friends at Arsenal.
He was welcomed back with open arms on Wednesday, posing for a group picture with Rob Holding and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the latter putting his arm around the midfielder's shoulders.
The session saw the players take part in tough sprinting drills while tethered to a machine
Per Mertesacker puts all his effort into running on Arsenal's return to London Colney
Arsenal are back after a tour which saw a win over Bayern Munich and a loss to Chelsea
Wilshere, whose hugely promising career has been continually hampered by a series of injuries, looked to be regaining full strength, taking part in drills both with the ball and in the gym.
However it may be too late to save his Arsenal career, with the club said to be ready to sell him this summer before his current deal ends at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Serie A club Sampdoria have made a £7.5million bid, while Turkish club Antalyaspor have also been linked with Wilshere.
Arsene Wenger will be hoping to get his team into shape as they look to improve on fifth place
Defender Rob Holding does a slide on his backside along the touchline for the cameras
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck laugh as Wenger looks on in the background
For Arsene Wenger's squad, this session saw them return to base after a pre-season tour which bore mixed results.
They beat A-League sides Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, before overcoming Bayern Munich on penalties.
However they were well beaten 3-0 by Premier League champions Chelsea in Beijing, raising questions about whether Arsenal are ready to compete for a Champions League place again having finished fifth last year.
The session in St Albans saw the players greeted on their homecoming with driving rain
Team mates Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott battle for the ball in a competitive drill
Record Gunners signing Alexandre Lacazette shields the ball from Holding during training
This would explain the players being put through what looked like a rigorous training session, the players undergoing sprinting drills while tethered to a machine to make it more difficult.
There were also fiercely competitive drills will the ball, with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott fighting over it in one session and Holding and Alex Lacazette going at it in another.
However there was also an element of fun as training played out amid a downpour, Holding doing a slide on his backside along the touchline for the cameras.
Mesut Ozil undergoes fitness training as Arsenal were trained hard after the 3-0 Chelsea loss
As the rain pelted down outside, the players were also training inside in dryer conditions
Striker Olivier Giroud takes a break from fitness training to grimace for the camera
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