Arsene Wenger has told Jack Wilshere to prove he is worth a new contract after the Arsenal midfielder’s latest setback.
Wilshere, who was farmed out on loan to Bournemouth for last season, was sent off for the Gunners' Under-23 development side against Manchester City earlier this week as he launched his comeback from an ankle fracture.
Wenger sympathised, to a degree, with the England midfielder's irascible retaliation after he was clattered by a poor challenge.
But the Arsenal manager has not ruled out sending the former England midfielder out on loan again, and Wilshere’s future at the Emirates is in doubt because he is in the final year of his contract.
Wenger said: “If he gets back to his best and he wants to stay, we have to sit down, I think, later in the season. I don’t rule that out. I’m open, you know, with Jack. We have honest conversations and I’m open to what is the best for him.
“At 25, he is at a stage of his career where he needs to play and I can’t guarantee him that today. I think I’m quite open on that.”
Wilshere, who won the last of his 34 England caps in the Euro 2016 blow-out against Iceland, made just 66 Premier League appearances in five years at Arsenal before he played 29 games last season on loan at Bournemouth.
His campaign was ended prematurely by a cracked ankle bone at Tottenham four months ago, but he worked hard to regain fitness – with a view to rebooting his career in Arsenal’s midfield – when his comeback was derailed by a red card on Monday.
Wilshere and City’s Tyreke Wilson were both sent off after the Arsenal midfielder took exception to a poor challenge from Matthew Smith.
Wenger said: “At my stage, and with my experience in football, I can understand a lot – especially what happened to him. Ideally, he should not have responded at all but when you have gone through what he has been through, with bad tackles, it was a human reaction.
“At the moment he is working very hard to come back after his fracture, so overall another setback would be terrible – and it was a bad tackle.
“You know how much I love Jack and his talent – I started him at the age of 17 but what is at stake for him is not his quality, his talent or determination – it is whether he is a consistent presence at the top.
“I hope he can manage to do that, and afterwards nobody questions his quality.”