UK Edition
Jack Wilshere keen to stay at Arsenal and salvage flagging career despite interest from Sampdoria
Jack Wilshere wants to stay and try to salvage his flagging Arsenal career after returning this week to full training following his broken leg.
The 25-year-old is among those players out of contract next summer and, while Arsenal have not offered him a new deal and are open to offers, Wilshere still believes that there can be a future for him at a club he first joined at the age of nine.
Although Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka ended last season as Arsene Wenger’s first-choice pairing in central midfield – and Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are currently the main back up – Wilshere would surely come into contention if he can get fully match fit.
Whether Wilshere can recapture the levels he reached during his breakthrough season in 2010/11 is clearly very questionable, but he is initially likely to get opportunities in both the League Cup and Europa League.
The situation will be reassessed towards the end of the transfer window but Wilshere has been making good progress in training and hopes now to build on last season when he played more Premier League matches on loan at Bournemouth that in any season at Arsenal since 2011. Wilshere has had offers to move abroad, most notably from Italian club Sampdoria, but has not yet given up on Arsenal.
Wenger’s transfer focus has been in the more attacking positions – especially given the doubt that still surrounds Alexis Sanchez – although his transfer priority, Thomas Lemar, can potentially play in a more central role.
There has been interest in Nice midfielder Jean Michel-Seri and Wilshere’s opportunities will also be influenced both by how Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is used next season and whether Santi Cazorla can get back to his peak.
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Cazorla are also out of contract next summer, with Oxlade-Chamberlain having already turned down one proposal this summer from Arsenal but not pushing to leave.
The club also announced that the price of its away tickets would be £4 beneath the £30 Premier League cap at £26. General admission tickets have also been frozen in price.