After Arsene Wenger once again confirmed that he wants Jack Wilshere to stay at Arsenal despite there being no new contract in sight, let’s look at what’s really going on with the 26-year-old’s deal.

Recently, it was reported that Arsenal had offered Jack a new ‘heavily incentivised’ contract but he would have to take a pay cut.

Presumably, the 26-year-old’s injury problems have made the club sheepish when it comes to forking out ridiculous sums for players that might not be fit to play for 75% of the season, which I think is fair enough.

Incentives will probably include bonuses for playing, which would make total sense.

“That decision doesn’t depend only on me,” Wenger said, reports the Evening Standard. “I want him to sign very quickly.

“We are still to make the decision and find the pen somewhere. I’m happy to give him one.”

Since this rumour began to do the rounds though, it’s been reported that Jack isn’t happy with the reduced terms.

The Islington Gazette was one such outlet, which reported that the midfielder would go from £110k-per-week to £80k-per-week. An amount the player is allegedly unhappy with.

wilshere tottenham
(Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Pot twist

Could the twist to this story be that Jack’s the one holding up the new contract and not Arsenal?

Back in November, Wenger said that the midfielder’s future would be sorted in December.

Then, in December, he said it would be wrapped up by the end of the month.

After this, it was pushed back again to January.

Here we are, almost in March, when Jack will have just three months left on his existing deal, and we still appear no closer to the England international actually signing a deal with the club he’s been at since the age of just nine.

We got a bit excited earlier in February when Arsenal’s official photographer Stuart MacFarlane revealed that he was compiling all of Jack’s headshots, but since then everything’s died down.

https://twitter.com/Stuart_PhotoAFC/status/960585418323447808

Wenger’s recent comments don’t just suggest that Arsenal want Jack to stay, they also hint that they want the contract wrapped up soon, which points to the notion that they’re not the ones in charge.

If Jack really wants to stay at Arsenal, surely he should be willing to sign whatever contract they put in front of him? He knows he’s been out injured for most of his adult career and it would be a massive risk putting him on huge wages, despite his run of good form.

Obviously, he doesn’t agree.

Recent reports claim Jack’s on his way to Milan, Sampdoria or even Juventus, which seems like a ploy from his agent to drive up his wages at Arsenal. Agents presume that by making their player seem sort after, clubs will bend to their every whim, which isn’t the case and could end up biting Jack on the backside if he’s not careful.

Saying this, Arsenal allegedly had scouts at Besiktas’ Champions League match against Bayern Munich in order to scout former Gunner Oguzhan Özyakup.

For the record, I do still think that Jack will stay in north London but I don’t think he’s as dead-set on ‘remaining loyal’ – whatever that is these days – as many fans would like to believe.

He loves Arsenal but, at the age of 26, he also wants what deal is best for him and his family, which is understandable.

Who knows, perhaps this contract saga will run until June.

Now that Mesut Ozil is on £350k-per-week, Arsenal have to know that players will start to demand higher wages. In fact, all signs were pointing to Jack signing a new deal until the German playmaker penned his last month. Although, it has been suggested since the beginning of the year that the injury-prone midfielder will have to take a wage cut.