crunch time

Arsene Wenger admits Jack Wilshere needs to convince him he is physically strong enough to have an Arsenal future

Gunners boss says midfielder has to prove to him he can be relied on regularly if he is to play a part in his future plans

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ARSENE WENGER has admitted Jack Wilshere needs to convince him he has the physical strength to have a future at Arsenal.

Wilshere is in the final year of his contract with the Gunners and Wenger is unsure whether to hand him a new deal.

And the biggest doubt in the mind over the Arsenal boss is whether he can trust the midfielder to be fit enough to play a part in his plans.

Wilshere, 25, is currently working his way back to fitness from a broken leg which ended his season-long loan at Bournemouth.

And Wenger admits it is getting to the crunch time for the England ace to show he deserves to get a new contract at the Emirates.

Wenger said: "You know how much I love Jack and his talent. But today in the football world you need a consistent presence.

"What is at stake for Jack is not his quality or his talent, it is his presence at the top.

"His quality is not in doubt."

Wilshere's hopes of proving his fitness to earn a first team recall took a knock this week when he was sent off in a reserve team match.

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The midfielder saw red after losing his temper following a heavy challenge from Manchester City youngster Matt Smith.

That leaves him facing a three match ban from under-23s matches, which will hamper his attempts to build up his fitness levels.

But Wenger says he can understand why his player reacted so badly to a series of strong challenges on him.

He said: "I can understand a lot, especially after what happened to him.

"Ideally he should not have responded but when you have gone through what he has it was a human reaction.

"At the moment he is working very hard to come back from his fracture and another setback would be terrible for him, so I understand his reaction."

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