Arsenal to open contract talks with Wilshere in new year

“Jack’s a special case because he came back from two years with no competition”. Eddie Howe’s men have had some superb results to lift them into the top half, with a 1-0 win over Everton and a astonishing 6-1 demolition of Hull.

Carl Jenkinson admits Arsenal must cut out their habit of making lethargic starts if they are to get back on track against Bournemouth on Sunday. Ahead of this Sunday’s game we asked our friends at Football Manager to work out which club Wilshere should be playing his football with next season. You watch the top teams and look at how you can get your team closer to that, so Arsenal, along with a number of other clubs, have had a big influence on my football ideas.

The Gunners will miss Hector Bellerin, Santi Cazorla, Lucas Perez, Danny Welbeck and Per Mertesacker as they all are injured.

“It was hard for me to see as well, that a guy who is an English national team player suddenly is not picked anymore”, Wenger said.

Bournemouth (4-3-5) have given a decent account of themselves so far as Eddie Howe’s Cherries sit in 10th place heading into this weekend’s action. Australia defender Brad Smith (foot) and midfielder Lewis Cook (ankle) both continue their rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth are likely to be without Artur Boruc and Andrew Surman for their game against the Gunners with respective injuries, while Jack Wilshere is ineligible for the fixture. Strangely enough, Arsenal have performed better away from home than at home this season. He’s flourishing under Eddie Howe in the pinnacle of the Cherries’ midfield and appears to have his famous burst back which made him such a hard player to mark when playing for Arsenal.

The Gunners have won all three previous meetings with Bournemouth and all to nil.

Arsenal have two main superstars in their team, and one of those is Ozil.

Arsenal are the only side in the Premier League yet to be losing at half-time in a match this season (winning six, drawing six).

Intriguingly, Wilshere’s stats show that, when he does play, he is one of Arsenal’s most effective central midfielders.

They looked decent going forward, but struggled at the back.

The Englishman is tied for the most goals scored by a Bouremouth players this season with three and has the most assists with three.

Wilshere has made nine appearances for the Cherries since joining on loan in August and was recently recalled by England boss Gareth Southgate for the games against Scotland and Spain earlier this month.