I’ll show Emery he was wrong, vows Wilshere
JACK WILSHERE is determined to ‘prove a point to Arsenal’ and show they were wrong to let him leave when he visits the Emirates Stadium for the first time as a West Ham player on Saturday.
The 26-year-old midfielder, who joined the Hammers on a free transfer in the summer, spent 17 years with the Gunners after joining their academy. New Arsenal boss Unai Emery told Wilshere he was not guaranteed first-team football after arriving as Arsene Wenger’s successor.
Now Wilshere is set to return to the Emirates under Manuel Pellegrini and said: ‘It’s down to me to prove a point to Arsenal that they were wrong to get rid of me. I’ve got to concentrate on football and I quite fancy our chances. I obviously know them really well. They’ve got a new manager, but I know the players, so hopefully it’ll be a good time to play them.’
Pellegrini is considering whether to change his team for the Arsenal game after being alarmed by the lack of legs in midfield against Bournemouth last Saturday. Mark Noble and Wilshere played centrally but West Ham were dominated and lost 2-1.
Last night West Ham also released an open letter from vice-chairman Karren Brady to the London Stadium’s landlords LLDC about the green carpet which surrounds their pitch.
In it, Brady explains they consulted an ‘expert’ who determined there ‘needs to be a new, replacement track cover made of suitable material’. As revealed by
Sportsmail last season, the current carpet was considered unsafe and there were worries it could cause injury. The letter also says ‘there is no valid reason why the track cover cannot be claret’. West Ham have offered to pay for changing the cover, which would cost £380,000.