Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
The Daily Mirror reports that Jack Wilshere is ready to quite Arsenal in the summer when his current deal at The Emirates expires.
The 26-year old Emirates will be out of contract in June, and talks with the new over a new contract have stalled, because the player is unhappy that he is being asked to agree to a restructured deal which will see his basic wages cut by 25%, whilst, at the same time, Mesut Ozil has just signed a new bumper contract, and new arrivals Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrik Mkhitaryan are earning double what he currently earns.
Manager Arsene Wenger has urged Wilshere to sign a new deal, but it now looks increasingly likely that the player will look to play his football elsewhere from next season.
The Arsenal hierarchy value Wilshere but are also very aware of his injury record which has seen him miss months of football in recent seasons, with persistent ankle problems. The new deal on offer to him reflects this, with large appearance-based bonuses on offer to offset the lower weekly wage.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.