JACK WILSHERE has revealed Arsene Wenger told him to quit Arsenal.
The Gunners star was riding a gym exercise bike at the start of the season when the Emirates boss advised him to find another club.
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Wilshere, firmly back in Arsenal’s plans after deciding to fight for his place, admitted: “He said: ‘I am going to be honest with you and at the moment we are not going to be offering you a contact.
“‘So if you can get a contract somewhere else, you can go.’
“I was on the bike in the gym, so I didn’t leave the room. It was a strange one, because maybe part of me knew all this already – all I needed was some clarity on where I stood in the football club.
“He said I could fight for my position. And I always had confidence I could get back into the midfield if I got my fitness back and kept it – and I did that. I proved that I could get into that team.
“It was boiling up for a while because everybody knew I had a year left on my deal and I had been out on loan, got injured, and wasn’t really in his plans.
“Obviously I was not happy with that, but at the same time I was happy he was being honest. He gave the opportunity with three or four weeks left in the transfer window, but I did not find anything that I wanted and at the same time I was not really fit.”
Wilshere has worked his way back into the Arsenal side and is now in talks over a new deal.
He added: “I have three months left on my contract. Ideally, yes, I want it sorted as soon as possible.
“I want to go to the World Cup and enjoy it but we have three months till then and a lot can happen. Ideally from my point-of-view and the club’s point-of-view, they will probably want it sorted.”
Wilshere even went on to captain Arsenal this season in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea back in January.
The midfielder, Arsenal through and through, admits he would like the role full-time.
He added: “When I did it for Arsenal, it was a great feeling, probably one of the best moments of my career.
“It was the Chelsea game and I remember on the day of the game, I was looking around and thinking ‘I’ve got a chance here to be captain’.
“It wasn’t until 45 minutes before kick-off when the boss said you are going to be captain.
“It was a great feeling and I’ve since done it a couple of more times and it is something I want to do at Arsenal more because I really enjoy it and I feel like I’ve got a special bond with the fans.”
Although Wilshere would prefer to re-sign with Arsenal, he has not ruled out a move abroad.
He added: “I had offers before but it just felt it wasn’t the right time in my career because I’d missed too much Premier League football and I missed playing in the Premier League. But I definitely wouldn’t say no.”
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