Arsenal: Jack Wilshere should be running for his pen

Arsene Wenger will leave Arsenal at the end of the season. That will change everything at the club, for no one more than Jack Wilshere, who should be running for his pen.

Arsene Wenger has an influence unlike any other manager in world football. There is no one who delves into the detail of his club like Wenger. And so, when he comes to depart after 22 years in the summer, the landscape of Arsenal will change more dramatically than for any other managerial exit.

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That is likely more true for Jack Wilshere than anyone else at the club. Wilshere is very much a Wenger prodigy. He has been in north London since he was a boy. He was always touted for the big time. He then reached it, only for injuries to gobble him and his development up.

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But Wenger has been more patient than any other manager would have been. He has stood by Wilshere during some of his darkest moments. Wilshere has described him as a ‘father figure’ in the past and the relationship that they have is a very special one. Indeed, Wilshere’s comments since it was announced that Wenger was to leave at the end of the year are very telling:

"“Ever since I’ve known about Arsenal, Arsene has been there. I’m sad, I’m a little bit disappointed that we couldn’t give him the season he wanted, but we’ve still got a chance to win something so he can leave on a high. He’s been great for me throughout my career, gave me my chance from a young age, stuck with me, showed his faith in me and helped me to develop as a player.”"

And so, one of Wilshere’s biggest supporters and champions is no longer in his corner. That, in the current context, is ground-shaking.

Wilshere’s current contract expires at the end of the season. He has been offered a new deal, though there seems to be an impasse regarding the wages on offer and what he believes he is worth, especially in the wake of the big-wage signings of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as the bumper new deal for Mesut Ozil. His future is very much up in the air.

And his form is not helping his cause. When he broke back into the first team this season, he looked fairly sharp, as if he was capable of re-discovering his very best at some point in the future. But since that time, his performance has curtailed quite considerably and some have questioned whether he is worth any new contract whatsoever, no matter the wage.

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For Wilshere, then, if he wants to stat at Arsenal, and by all his public comments he seems to, he should be running to find his pen and sign the contract that is, per Wenger, still on the table. It might not be on the table for much longer with Wenger on his way out. Wilshere needs to act while he still can.