Arsenal: Jack Wilshere contract talks epitomise a forgotten problem

You would be forgiven for forgetting that Jack Wilshere’s contract expires at the end of the season given the focus on Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s future. It is another contract problem that Arsenal must solve; it is another that I have little confidence in their ability to do so.

Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will hog the contract headlines. Given their talent, their influence and their profile, that much is to be expected. But because of it, it often means that other concerns with Arsenal football club are able to slip through the general attention of the media and the fans.

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One of those things is the contracts of many of the other players in the squad. While Ozil and Alexis are the famous examples of players with soon-to-be-expiring contracts, there are actually a raft of secondary members of the squad that also face uncertain futures.

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Jack Wilshere is one of them. Here he is, discussing his future after his first Premier League start against West Ham United on Wednesday night:

"“There’s not really a date in the diary. Nothing’s changed. We were in the same position as we were. I’ve only read what the manager’s said in the media. I’ve just played my first game in the Premier League, I’m concentrating on staying fit and staying in this team. That will look after itself. When it’s the right time to talk about it, I’m sure the boss will call me and we’ll have a chat.”"

Along with Wilshere, Sanchez and Ozil, Santi Cazorla, who has not featured for over a year and is not likely to until the latter stages of the season, also has doubts over his future, with his contract expiring at the end of the year.  And the problem intensifies in future years.

In the summer of 2019, which is now only 18 months away, the following player’s contracts expire: Petr Cech, David Ospina, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Debuchy, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Chuba Akpom, Olivier Giroud.

In fact, the only players that Arsenal have locked up for more than three years (contracts expiring in the summer 2021 or later) that have not been signed in either of the last two summers, as their first contracts with the club would automatically take them to that stage, assuming it is a five-year deal, as it often is in the modern era, are Francis Coquelin, Calum Chambers and Hector Bellerin. Hardly the most crucial members of the squad.

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Arsenal have a contract problem that extends far beyond just Ozil and Sanchez. Wilshere’s comments are the latest development to reveal that. Arsene Wenger has much work to do to leave this squad in a strong and stable position. I have little confidence in his ability to complete it.