Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was shipped out of North London on deadline day, in favour of a loan move away from the club. Whilst some will argue he was forced out, many believe that Wilshere recognised that if he is to try and get his club career back on track, he needs to go to a team that can offer him regular first team football where he can attempt to build on his fitness.
After Wilshere was made available by Arsene Wenger, the Englishman reportedly received 22 offers from clubs across Europe, many of which were in England and Italy. On deadline day, two clubs which were reportedly very keen on Wilshere were AS Roma and Bournemouth. These two sides are at opposite ends of the scale, but Wilshere in the end ‘chose’ to sign for Bournemouth on the south coast.
It left Roma disappointed they couldn’t come to an agreement with Arsenal and Wilshere and a spokesperson for Roma, director Mauro Baldissoni has confirmed that whilst the Italian side did make an offer for Wilshere, the midfielder declined in favour of remaining in England. Baldissoni said: ‘Towards the end of the market we saw the chance to take an opportunity. We had identified Wilshere, who could’ve suited us, but he decided to remain in England. For the rest, we did what we needed to do.’
Although it comes as no surprise that Wilshere would prefer to stay in England, despite the difference in competition between Roma and Bournemouth, it was slightly surprising that he didn’t seem to even consider remaining at a ‘higher level’. Bournemouth will no doubt be a fantastic experience for Jack, if he manages to stay fit, because on the south coast he will endure a star player spot on the team and he will certainly achieve regular playing time to build his fitness and confidence. However was it really Wilshere’s decision to chose Bournemouth or did Arsenal have something to do with it?
It has been rumoured instead that Arsenal rejected Roma’s approach for Wilshere, despite recognising what a fantastic opportunity it would be for the Englishman to play his trade abroad, because of dealings that occurred between the two clubs earlier in the summer. Although Arsenal already have one Gunner out in Roma, in the form of Wojciech Szczesny, it is understood that since then Roma were not willing to hold any negotiations at all regarding their central defender Manolas. This supposedly frustrated the club in its attempt to sign a centre back (before Mustafi) and so as a result the North Londoners were not willing to engage over any possible loan deal for Wilshere.
Although many fans are still coming to terms with what a strange feeling it is to see Wilshere away from the club, now that a deal has happened and he is out on loan, I think many are slowly coming to realise what an opportunity this is for the 24 year old to rebuild his career and give himself another chance of success at Arsenal in the future.
By AH