Jack Wilshere insists Mikel Arteta 'doesn't want' him at Arsenal

Jack Wilshere has ruled out a return to the Arsenal first-team squad, insisting that manager Mikel Arteta 'doesn't want' him.

The former England international has been a free agent since being released by Bournemouth at the end of the 2020/21 season, but has been training with the Gunners recently. In his first stint with the club the midfielder made just shy of 200 appearances and also won the FA Cup twice.

Speaking on Talksport, when asked about a potential return to the Arsenal squad Wilshere replied: "The manager doesn’t want me to. Well, I don’t think he does. I would love it to be Arsenal. But I am not in control of that.

Arteta has previously insisted that the midfielder will continue to train with the club and that no changes would be made to his role: "I think I was very clear with the situation with Jack and the role he was going to have; we will continue in the same way."

Wilshere, now 30 years old, has been linked with a move to a number of European clubs over the last month, but no deal has came to pass. Lille were said to be interested in signing Wilshere, but those rumours quickly died down when the club confirmed the arrival of Hatem Ben Arfa.