Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has shed some light on his last-minute deadline day decision to make a loan switch to Bournemouth.
He has revealed the crucial discussion with Wenger while also stating the reasons he chose Bournemouth over other potential suitors Crystal Palace.
Wilshere disclosed while he was already contemplating the difficult decision of moving away from his childhood club, it was being ousted from the England squad that drove him to leave Arsenal.
“August 28, the Sunday,” said the 24-year-old in an interview to the Daily Mail.
“It was the final straw. It hurt not being in there.”
The England international had already fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates due to injuries and the addition of Granit Xhaka over the summer only worsened his case.
“There were a lot of midfielders and the manager brought another one in,” Jack added.
“I’d been injured for a while, and I was thinking I was at a stage of my career where I needed to play. I’m 24 and I’ve already missed too much football, and if I want to get to where I want to be it’d be no good coming off the bench in every game.”
The growing frustration over the lack of regular __football had already taken its toll for the midfielder and the snubbing from England squad forced him to initiate a conversation with Wenger regarding his future at the club.
“I actually sent him a text to begin with,” shared Wilshere.
“I said I wanted to come in and speak to him. He said he wasn’t around for a few days with it being international week. But he told me to call him and I did.
“We spoke a couple of times that day. It was the Monday and the transfer window was closing on the Wednesday so we didn’t have long to sort something out. But I’d decided that I couldn’t have a season where I’m not starting. I spoke to the boss and he said, “You will play”. But I wanted more than that. I want to play week in, week out, be an important player for the team.
“I’m at my best when I’m playing regularly, when people are relying on me and I’m an important member of the team. I said to the boss, “You know what kind of player I am, what type of character I am, I need to play, it would be best if I leave”.”
Wilshere received offers from Serie A club AC Milan and Premier League club Crystal Palace were also eager to have him, but it was eventually a move away from London that convinced him to join Bournemouth.
“I met Alan Pardew. He was good, to be fair,” the England star further revealed.
“I really liked his ideas in terms of what he wanted to do with me at Palace.
“But a big part of me wanted to get away from it all, get away from London. And Eddie Howe was great.
“Straight away he talked about the things he thought I could improve on and stuff like that and I agreed with him.
“And what I liked was the fact that, even when they are struggling, Bournemouth never shy away from wanting to play football.
“Once I’d spoken to Eddie I made my mind up. There was something about him that made me feel I wanted to work with him.”
Wilshere played the full 90-minutes for Bournemouth against Spurs last week, and will likely feature for Howe against Middlesbrough today.
While currently enjoying his run with the Cherries, Wilshere hasn’t ruled out a return to Arsenal. However, truth be told, the road to becoming a regular for the Gunners will be tougher than it previously has now Wenger’s invested in an even greater number of quality midfielders.
For now the important thing for the midfielder is to play as regularly as possible and rediscover the spark that made him one of the most promising midfielders in the game.