The England midfielder has been at Arsenal since the age of 9, but is enjoying his loan spell at the Cherries.
Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele in action with Bournemouth’s Jack Wilshere
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, currently on loan at Bournemouth, has told the Mail that he doesn’t know whether his future is with the London giants come the end of the season.
Wilshere has been with the Gunners since the age of 9, and was expected to become an integral player at the Emirates having displayed huge promise as a youngster.
But his recent seasons at his boyhood club have seen plenty of frustration, predominantly with injury problems, and he is currently enjoying more regular game time at the Vitality Stadium than he has managed in years at Arsenal.
Jack Wilshere warms up before an Arsenal match
Speaking to the Mail, he made it clear that the move down to the south coast has been good for him, outlining a few differences between life under Arsene Wenger.
“I probably last felt this good playing for England against Slovenia in 2015,” Wilshere said. “Life is different down here. Bournemouth has everything Arsenal has, in terms of facilities at the training ground but it’s a bit cosier. The chef cooks good food. All the staff have been great to me. And the manager, for me, is one of the best. He’s always on the training pitch.
“He has this “train-to-win” philosophy. In the week you work on things he believes will help in the game you’re preparing for. That seems obvious but isn’t always the case.
“It’s really competitive. It’s hard. I’m feeling probably the fittest I’ve ever felt. The manager has a leader board for wins in training. I’m improving. Had a big win today. He has a “trainer of the month award”. And he films every training session and will sit you down and go through clips. I’ve never done that before.”
The midfielder did admit that although he hasn’t decided anything right now, the possibility of leaving Arsenal is real – an admission that seems something of a shock to the Gunner.
“I haven’t really thought about my future beyond getting a season under my belt and just trying to improve as a player,” Wilshere added.
Bournemouth’s Jack Wilshere
“To be honest your question is a hard question to answer because I don’t know what to say. I genuinely don’t know if I am going to end up at Arsenal or somewhere else.
“If you’d ask me two months ago if I was going to finish my career at Arsenal then I would have said, ‘Yeah, of course’.”
The England midfielder has long been held up as an example of Arsenal’s ability to bring through not just foreign talent and make them top players, but also English players.
England’s Jack Wilshere in action with Australia’s Robbie Kruse
Wilshere joins Kieran Gibbs as one of only two homegrown English players to have played for the Three Lions having come through the Gunners academy since David Bentley and Ashley Cole emerged at the turn of the century.
And it is clear that playing for his country is something that is important to Wilshere, as he explained that Sam Allardyce’s decision to axe him from the national team earlier in the year, despite the 24-year-old being healthy, was a factor in deciding to leave the Emirates.
“It was the final straw,” he says. “It hurt not being in there.”
If he returns to the England team at Bournemouth, who is to say he won’t decide that regular football is more important than the ties that bind him to the Emirates.
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