Jack Wilshere drops down to Under-23s in bid to salvage Arsenal career

James Olley10 August 2017

Jack Wilshere is set to step up his recovery by returning to action at Under-23 level as he bids to salvage his Arsenal career.

The 25-year-old spent last season on loan at Bournemouth but his spell on the south coast was cut short in April after he sustained a broken leg in a Premier League match at Tottenham.

Wilshere returned to the Gunners to undergo his rehabilitation and resumed full training towards the end of last month.

Although midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil are both struggling to be fit for tomorrow’s league opener against Leicester City, it is understood that Wilshere is unlikely to be included in the matchday squad with the club’s medical staff preferring instead to give him game-time at a lower level.

Arsenal Under-23s begin their season with a match against Derby County at St George’s Park on Monday night and Wilshere could feature there, otherwise he will have to wait until August 21 when they host Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.

Wilshere’s future remains uncertain as he enters the final year of his contract. His temporary move to Bournemouth was aimed at reviving a career which had stagnated due to several serious injuries and a lack of first-team opportunities at Arsenal.

Wenger told Wilshere at the beginning of August last year that he was a prominent part of his plans only to change his mind shortly before the end of the transfer window, prompting a hastily arranged switch to the south coast.

Wilshere made 27 league appearances – more than in any season since 2010-11 – but his latest setback robbed him of the opportunity of forcing his way into the picture this season.

Sampdoria and West Ham have expressed an interest in signing Wilshere but he is keen to fight for his place at a club he first joined aged nine if given any encouragement by Wenger.

To avoid last summer’s change of heart, Wenger has informed Wilshere that he could become a regular again if proving himself but Granit Xhaka and Ramsey have established themselves as his first-choice central-midfield in Arsenal’s 3-4-2-1 system.

​Mohamed Elneny is likely to deputise should Ramsey miss out, as he did in last weekend’s Community Shield clash with Chelsea which the Gunners won on penalties.

Wilshere is in a race against time to gain match fitness as the transfer window closes in three weeks.

There is, as yet, no suggestion of Wilshere being offered a new contract to stay with the Gunners but that possibility has not been ruled out.

Wilshere is also mindful of securing regular football in a World Cup year; he was an unused substitute for last November’s matches against Scotland and Spain but has not been named in Gareth Southgate’s squad since.

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