Jack Wilshere thinks Arsenal were wrong to let him leave for West Ham United, and he wants to prove as much in the derby match between the sides this weekend.
It’s hard to imagine there’s any possibility that Wilshere won’t be the key talking point ahead of the match on Saturday. After all, he spent pretty much his entire youth career with Arsenal, then the vast majority of his senior career as well, before leaving for West Ham this summer.
As the player himself points out, it will be the first chance he has to play against the Gunners in a competitive fixture. He’s hoping he can use it to prove them wrong to sell him.
“They’ve got a new manager, but I know the players, so hopefully it’ll be a good time to play them,” Wilshere said. “It’ll be a strange one for me as I was never able to go there and play when I went out on loan as you can play against your parent club, but it’s one I’m looking forward to.
“It’s down to me to prove a point to Arsenal that they were wrong to get rid of me.”
The choice of words there is particularly strange. By all accounts, including Wilshere’s own, Arsenal never decided to ‘get rid’ of him. Unai Emery simply informed the midfielder he wouldn’t have a guaranteed spot in the starting lineup. The 26-year-old decided that wasn’t good enough for him, so he left.
That’s presumably what Wilshere is referring to, but phrasing his decision not to fight for his place at Arsenal as the club casting him out is a major misrepresentation. Hopefully Emery’s side get the win on Saturday and we can all move on.