Tony Adams believes Arsenal need Jack Wilshere’s emotional attachment to the club.

Despite his return to first team action, Wilshere has yet to become a regular in Arsene Wenger’s preferred starting eleven.

Instead, he’s been used in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. It’s in those competitions where he’s demonstrated good form and fitness.

Adams feels that the Arsenal team could use more homegrown players due to their history with the club.

“I’d like him to play even more, to be in the starting XI more often and get back into that England team,” Adams told the Evening Standard.

“He’s got the history of the club at heart, coming through the youth system. You’d like to think that he has got some kind of emotional attachment to the club.

“We bought Ozil and these players. That’s great, some people settle really well and do marvellous things for the club. But players like Jack and Alex Iwobi that came from the academy just feel more for the club. It was like that in 1989, when we had six of us in the side.” 

Wilshere was snubbed by Gareth Southgate for England’s upcoming friendlies against Germany and Brazil.

England have a shortage of both midfielders and creativity, but Southgate still managed to come up with a reason not to select him.

It seems that Wilshere will need to be playing regularly in the Premier League if he’s to have any chance of getting back into the England squad.

For that to happen, though, Arsene Wenger will need to drop one of Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil from his starting eleven.

Wenger has made it clear that he sees Wilshere playing as an attacking midfielder, and not in the centre of midfield or a deep-lying role demanded by England.

Wilshere’s contract expires in the summer, but talks over an extension are set to take place next month.