JACK IS SET TO DEAL A BLOW
Wenger hit by ace’s quit hint
JACK WILSHERE has cranked up the pressure on Arsene Wenger with yet another hint that he could quit Arsenal.
The England midfielder helped the Gunners to a surprise Europa League win against AC Milan on Thursday night to ease the pressure on the Frenchman.
But Wilshere’s future remains in doubt with his contract up in the summer. The club’s only offer needs him to cut his basic pay to around £90,000 a week.
Wenger, whose future is also up in the air, insisted that the ball was in the player’s court with Arsenal unlikely to make him a better offer.
But in a clear sign he has rejected the deal, Wilshere said: “Things have changed. We’re no closer to sorting anything out.”
Chance
Bournemouth and West Ham would both be interested him if he leaves on a free at the end of the season.
But for now, he is only focused on turning things around at Arsenal – and admits winning the Europa League could be their best chance of a return to the Champions League.
The Gunners are sixth in the Premier League, 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, but hold a 2-0 lead going into the second leg of their last-16 tie with Milan on Thursday.
Wilshere said: “Is it our best chance? Yes, but it’s not going to be easy. We can’t just give up in the Premier League.
“We have to get as many points as possible so if anyone does slip up, which doesn’t look likely, we are ready to pounce.
“If we keep performing like this, we have a chance. Milan was our best performance in a while, definitely. We haven’t been doing well in the league.
“Our confidence has been down but we stuck together and put in a real team performance.
“We had to find a way to get our confidence back, and we did. It has to carry on. We have to use this win as a target. We’ve got to reach these levels every week.
“This competition is not done yet. We had a little scare with Ostersunds last round and this is AC Milan.
“They will want to win the game. We have to be ready.”
Next up for Arsenal is tomorrow’s clash with Watford and a reunion with Troy Deeney, who mocked them for lacking the stomach for a fight after they lost at Vicarage Road earlier this season.
The Arsenal players did not take kindly to that, but Wenger has told his players not to get mad, just get even.
He said: “You think we have not had enough controversy in the last week? You want me to add some more?
“What we can do is always respond on the field with the quality of our performance and that’s what we want to focus on, not what people say.
“If I respond to every single statement in the country I would be mad. I may be anyway but I would be even more mad.”