Sad end to Jack’s 17 years of service

JACK WILSHERE had already agreed to take a pay cut, but the threat of demotion was too much. Unai Emery told him he had little chance of making the team next season so, after 17 years, he will be leaving Arsenal. The club needs more than a mascot but, even so, this is a terrible shame. Wilshere was a unique presence at Arsenal. He cared about the club, cared about the Ladies team, cared enough to be the only member of the first-team squad to attend the premiere of a film about the 1989 title win at Anfield. That day meant something to him, in a way it does not to teammates, even though he wasn’t born. He was one of their own. There aren’t too many about like that these days, and certainly not at Arsenal. So Wilshere’s departure is a milestone, and also a failure on the part of the club. They thought they had a superstar, the finest English player of his generation but, ultimately, couldn’t make him a fixture in their team. Wilshere (below) topped 30 appearances in just three seasons for Arsenal. He never made it to 200 appearances. He only scored 14 goals. Emery’s overhaul has seen arrivals from Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus, and Arsenal are linked with further imports from Freiburg, Sampdoria and Sevilla. A change was needed but how sad is it that this comes at the expense of a Hertfordshire boy who has been at the club since the age of nine. It may not mean anything to the new coach, or his employers, but the fans who saw their own passion reflected in Wilshere must be hurting. Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka, a defensive midfielder who appears to have an aversion to tracking his man or tackling responsibly, has been given a new five-year contract. ‘He is still young so will be able to develop even more,’ said Emery. Xhaka will be 26 in September, the same age as Wilshere.