Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere is set to miss three matches for the U23s after his red card in Monday’s win over Manchester City.

The suspension won’t affect his senior opportunities directly, but Wilshere will now miss games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Leicester.

Unfortunately, the reality is that this probably will affect the midfielder’s senior opportunities indirectly. No longer able to build his fitness and gain match sharpness with the reserves, Wilshere’s only options are now to get straight back into first-team action or sit out of matches completely.

Currently, Arsenal have three U23 matches scheduled between now and September 15, meaning the 25-year-old wouldn’t be able to play another game until the next fixture on September 25, over a month from now.

If Arsène Wenger chooses to stick with Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey for the next few league games, or even brings in Mohamed Elneny or Francis Coquelin instead, this doesn’t leave any space for Wilshere to stake his claim.

One possibility would be another loan move, perhaps just a short-term move over the next few months until January. With just a year left on his contract, Wilshere would probably need to agree improved terms with Arsenal before leaving again.