Wilshere: I still have a future with Arsenal
Jack Wilshere, who has staked his claim for a place on the bench against Southampton today with his fine midweek performance against BATE Borisov, says he is confident he can fight his way back into Arsene Wenger’s Premier League plans, even though he is only three weeks away from being able to negotiate with other clubs.
Wilshere, who scored one goal and laid on two in Arsenal’s 6-0 win in the Europa League on Thursday, also revealed he has not given up on playing for England in the World Cup next summer.
The midfielder, 25, who wants to stay at Arsenal, is out of contract at the end of the season – there has been no offer from the club – but he denied the lack of talks was playing on his mind.
He said: “Nothing else goes through your head when you’re playing except who you are playing against and what you can do to affect the game. If I’m on the bench in a Premier League game, I’m thinking, ‘What can I do coming off the bench?’ When I’m at home, maybe you think, ‘What’s going to happen? I’ve only got six months left.’ But once I’m at the training ground, I’m focused, preparing for the next game.”
Wilshere thinks his season at Bournemouth last year helped him as a player and said he was wiser now about listening to his body to avoid injury. He added: “Bournemouth was beneficial. The boss made it clear I was not going to play as much as I wanted to at Arsenal. It was difficult going out to a nottop-four-team. You have to fight for the ball and you learn more about yourself, such as how good you are defensively.
“I think I improved there massively. I played 28 to 30 games and unfortunately, I got an impact injury which anyone could have picked up. I look back on my time there and I think I learnt a lot, made some good friends there and I wouldn’t change anything.”
He says Wenger has allowed him to skip training sometimes to make sure he stays at peak fitness. “As you get older things change. I know my body better. There might be some days when I have had to miss a training session and the boss has been brilliant. I have trained 90 per cent of the time. But on the odd occasion when I am feeling a bit tired and know my body is at risk of picking up an injury, I speak with the boss and he lets me stay inside.
“Ultimately, the most important thing is the game. You have to be fresh for the game and be ready for that, and that is what I have been concentrating on more this year.”
As well as being confident of fighting his way back into the Arsenal team, Wilshere still believes he can play for England in Russia. “I want to play for my country,” he said. “The manager seems to not favour me. He said he wants me to be playing regularly in the Premier League and fair enough, that’s what I have to do.”