Jack Wilshere has said that Arsenal’s former manager Arsene Wenger was sacked, rather than a mutual agreement being reached between him and the board.
Jack Wilshere left Arsenal this summer after a 17 year old association with the club. Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger also departed following 22 years of legacy at the helm at the Highbury and Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger’s departure was widely demanded by a lot of fans who were frustrated with downhill results in the past season. The Gunners were not competitive enough in the last few seasons.
Finally, Arsene Wenger revealed that he would step down as Arsenal boss following the 2017/18 after a tenure of 22 years with the Gunners. However, later, the French manager said that the date of his exit was not his hands, dropping a hint of probably being sacked.
Former Arsenal man Jack Wilshere, who is now on the books of West Ham United has confirmed the news that Arsene Wenger was sacked by Stan Kroenke.
Speaking to BBC’s ‘Football Focus‘, Wilshere said, “It was not the manager’s decision to leave the club. I was in the last year of my contract, and I spoke with the manager at the time, Arsene Wenger, and he said that they won’t be offering me a new deal and that I could leave.
“But at the time I was injured and it was difficult, because I wasn’t fit and I wasn’t playing, and not many teams wanted me injured.
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“So I decided to stay and I got back into the team and they finally offered me a deal in January which I was ready to sign, and then Arsene got sacked.
“It was strange, everyone was just shocked and Per Mertesacker, the captain, said a few words, and I think everyone was just in shock. It was strange.
“No-one really saw it coming, but it changed everything, and I wanted to wait to speak to the new manager [Unai Emery].
“And I did, and he was brilliant, he was honest with me. He said you can stay, but you won’t be in my starting XI, so I thought it was the right time to finally leave.”
Jack Wilshere signed for West Ham United after 10 years at the club as a professional footballer, and 17 years since signing for Arsenal’s youth academy.
