Jack’s back but now a Hammer

JACK WILSHERE won’t allow his emotions to get the better of him ahead of his Emirates return.

The West Ham midfielder faces former club Arsenal for the first time on Saturday after ending a 17-year stay with his boyhood club in the summer.

“It will be strange playing against Arsenal,” said Wilshere. “A lot of memories, which are still fresh, will be stirred up. I was at the club from a young age.

“But as a professional you detach yourself from that. You concentrate on the job at hand – and that’s about helping West Ham win a game of football.

“They have got a new manager but I know the players. Hopefully it will be a good time to play them. I have got to try and block all the emotion out.

“First of all, I have got to concentrate on football. I quite fancy our chances. It is down to me to prove a point to Arsenal that they were wrong to get rid of me.”

Fringes

Wilshere said he knew it was time to walk away from Arsenal.

When newly-appointed boss Unai Emery warned him that life on the fringes beckoned, Wilshere opted for a fresh start.

But he says he does not hold any grudges and insists he would not dare celebrate if he scores.

Wilshere, 26, added: “I could not celebrate. I would not celebrate out of respect for the fans because of the support they have shown me over the years.

“To score and celebrate in front of them just would not be right.”

West Ham spent in excess of £100m in a summer signing spree but Manuel Pellegrini’s men, like Arsenal, have begun the new Premier League season with successive defeats.

The early setbacks have burst the optimism at the London Stadium

Wilshere added: “We have a new manager and a lot of new players.

“It was always going to take some time to gel.”