Jack Wilshere has seemingly confirmed that Arsene Wenger was sacked, despite the club’s official stance that it was a mutual decision for him to leave.

Speaking on the BBC‘s Football Focus show, Wilshere described the ‘strange’ moment the players learned the Arsenal manager had lost his job.

“I got back into the team, and they finally offered me a deal, it was in January” Wilshere recalled. “I was ready to sign, and then Arsene got sacked. It was strange, everyone was just shocked. I remember Per Mertesacker, the captain, said a few words, saying ‘thank you’, but everyone was just in shock. No one really saw it coming.”

The comment about the sacking does seem like a bit of a throwaway remark, and the BBC interviewer didn’t challenge Wilshere on it, so it’s hard to know if he really meant it. Certainly the way he describes the moment as such as shock makes you think it wasn’t planned at all in advance though.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t make a great deal of difference either way. Arsenal needed to change something to get the team back on track, and they still managed to give Wenger the send off he deserved, after giving so much to the club for over 20 years. Whether it was the Frenchman’s choice or not, it was the right time.

Clearly Wenger’s situation had a big impact on Wilshere’s decision to sign a new contract though. It’s easy to understand why, given the length of time the midfielder spent playing for the 68-year-old, and the uncertainty that accompanied his departure.

Hopefully things will work out for the former Arsenal midfielder at West Ham now instead.