Granit Xhaka has urged Arsenal to retain the services of midfielder Jack Wilshere beyond the summer.
The 26 year-old is into the final months of his playing contract with the North London club, and do not currently appear to be close to signing a new deal at present.
Reports move to claim that an offer of an extension has been made, albeit with a reduced weekly wage and encouraging appearance fee due to the club’s reluctance to be stuck paying for Jack’s recurring injury problems, and you can understand why the player himself would be reluctant to accept.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, Wilshere has reiterated his desire to stay at the club, and the manager has even talked of him being a future club captain, yet the contract still seems distant…
Granit Xhaka has now stated his desire to continue to play alongside his team-mate, adding that it brings balance to the Arsenal midfield.
“When I play with those two, I’m a bit deeper, basically just in front of the defence,” Xhaka told Arsenal’s match-day programme.
“Jack and Aaron like to go forward, to get into the box, whereas I’m happy to stay back and build the play from a deeper area. But we all have our qualities and always try to help each other out.
“I’ve always said that to be successful, you need all 11 players, plus those on the bench and those in the squad.
“You can’t just win a game because two or three players have a good game. You have to work together as a unit, both in defence and in attack.
“I think we’ve become stronger defensively because we’re all really focusing on what we need to do.
“Everyone knows that we have a lot of quality going forward, but at the moment I think we’ve got that balance and we need to keep that.”
Can we afford to let Wilshere leave? Do the club really undervalue him?
Pat J