Arsenal's academy product Jack Wilshere said his last goodbye to Arsenal Football Club yesterday as the midfielder revealed his decision of not signing a new contract at the club.
Wilshere joined Arsenal at a young age of just 9 and made his debut for the first team when he was just 16. The midfielder was sent on loan to Bolton thereafter, where he impressed a lot of people. Coming back to Arsenal, Wilshere broke into the Arsenal team and was a key component of the Arsenal midfield. He is the only player to win the Goal of the season award for two consecutive years. He has also won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.
However, little did he know about the impact that his injuries were going to have on his career. Jack struggled with way too many injuries so young into his career . It is commendable though, how the youngster remained mentally strong and came back after every setback.
After being out long for almost a year, Wilshere then went on loan to Bournemouth after Arsenal signed Granit Xhaka, knowing how he wouldn't get much game time. He played for a season at Bournemouth remaining fit only to get injured in the last few days of the season. He then returned to Arsenal last season, where he played a lot of football, keeping himself fit and performing well on occasions. In fact, he was handed the armband by Arsene Wenger in some games as well.
But with Wenger gone, it looked almost certain that Jack wouldn't sign another deal at Arsenal. And last week, after a meeting with new manager Unai Emery, Jack was told by the Arsenal boss that he won't be guaranteed game time and will have to fight for his place in the team. With Arsenal already having a lot of midfielders with Torreira and Banega linked as well, Wilshere thought this might be the right time to move on. And accordingly, he announced yesterday that he indeed is moving on to a new adventure. Needless to say, Jack will have a lot of takers, for sure. But the midfielder wants to stay in England. He has been linked to West Ham and Crystal Palace, but we all know that Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of Jack Wilshere. It will be interesting to see where he goes.