Jack Wilshere has revealed manager Arsene Wenger told him he could leave Arsenal before the start of the Premier League season.
Wilshere is out of contract at the end of the campaign, and while the club remains optimistic a deal can be reached, they were content for him to leave last summer.
Preparing for England’s international friendlies against Netherlands and Italy, Wilshere said he was granted the opportunity to leave boyhood club Arsenal following his season-long loan spell at Bournemouth in 2016/17.
“It was an honest conversation,” Wilshere said. “It had been boiling up for a while.
“Everybody knew I had a year left on my deal and had been out on loan, got injured and wasn’t really in his plans. He just said: ‘At the moment we are not going to be offering you a contract so, if you can get one somewhere else, you can go.'”
Wilshere, though, has forced his way into Wenger’s first-team plans this term, making 31 appearances in all competitions.
The 26-year-old continued: “Obviously I wasn’t happy with what the manager had said but, at the same time, part of me knew all this already.
“All I needed was some clarity on where I stood at the football club. How did I feel after? It did make me think. He’d said I could fight for my position and, if I performed well in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, I’d have a chance.”
