Arsenal: Jack Wilshere just following in Mesut Ozil’s footsteps

Jack Wilshere wants to stay at Arsenal, but no contract has been signed. Well, with Mesut Ozil now staying, the oft-injured midfielder simply needs to follow the creator’s footsteps.

Arsenal’s January transfer window was unexpectedly busy. Although they had many loose ends to tie up and there was an anticipation that much may happen, given Arsene Wenger’s historic hesitance to wheel and deal in a window that he famously hates, there was some trepidation surrounding the Gunners actual involvement and action.

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But busy they were, so much so that they sold two players for a fair price, swapped a bonafide star for another superlative attacker, and broke their transfer record for the second time in just six months. However, even with all that taking place, the most surprising conclusion was undoubtedly the resolution to Mesut Ozil’s drawn-out contract uncertainty.

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After nearly two years of speculation, leading many to anticipate an exit at the end of the season as his deal expired, Ozil, shockingly, agreed to a new three-and-a-half year deal that will keep him in North London until 2021. With the startlingly sudden resolution to Ozil’s future, there is now only one pressing issue for Wenger to solve: the problem of Jack Wilshere.

Thankfully, it seems as though the now 21-year-experienced manager, who is oft-criticised for his handling of players’ contracts, is aware of the need:

"“We try to make progress and I told you that many times for [Mesut] Ozil. I’m positive because I want him to stay. I do the maximum I can to make him happy. With Jack it [signing a new contract] is now.”"

It seems as though this should happen without a hitch: Wilshere wants Arsenal; Arsenal want Wilshere. It is simply a matter of thrashing out the finer details, right? Well, perhaps not.

There are reports stating that the Gunners are currently offering a £90,000-a-week salary, £20,000 less than his current earnings. There are, allegedly, clauses and incentives that, if satisfied, will take Wilshere above the £110,000 mark that he is most probably looking for, but they are heavily appearance based — Wilshere has made just 81 Premier League appearances since the start of the 2011/12 season.

The thing that should help Wenger and his team, though, is the prior signing of Ozil. The German is a player that Wilshere has shown a good understanding with on the pitch thanks to a shared game intelligence, creative vision, and spatial awareness that few other players in the squad can replicate, and he is certainly the quality of individual that could convince Wilshere to take a pay cut to stay.

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This is not a contract that should be difficult to achieve. Unfortunately, the ever-cheap Arsenal are proving it be so. They have, though, proven adept at the negotiation table with Ozil. They now just have to do exactly the same with Wilshere.