Arsenal have been left distinctly unimpressed to learn Jack Wilshere has been spotted at the scene of an altercation between two groups of men in the small hours of Sunday morning and are seeking clarification from the player as to what occurred at the venue close to London’s Leicester Square.
Footage obtained by the Daily Mirror appears to show Wilshere, who is back in full training after almost nine months out with a broken leg, being questioned by police officers while people, apparently his friends, attempt to obscure the 24-year-old from the view of onlookers filming on their mobile telephones. A police spokesman later confirmed officers patrolling the area had been alerted to an altercation with one man claiming he had been assaulted, though he did not require hospital treatment and no arrests were made.
While Wilshere was not in breach of any club rules by being out on Saturday night, there is a sense of disappointment at Arsenal that the player has put himself in a potentially awkward situation just as optimism was growing that he may be nearing a return to the first-team squad.
The midfielder broke his left fibula on the eve of the side’s victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield last August and underwent surgery in mid-September. He had envisaged returning in mid-March but is now expected to play in Friday’s under-21s match against Newcastle United at the Emirates stadium.
Roy Hodgson has already indicated a desire to take the player, capped 24 times, to the European Championship if he can prove his fitness over what remains of Arsenal’s season, while Arsène Wenger spoke only last week of his hopes that Wilshere is included in the national team’s 23-man squad for the finals. “You want your players to compete,” he said. “When you’re a footballer you want to compete at the top level and what is important is that Jack, who is frustrated enough, regains confidence.
“It’s very important for his confidence that he can go to the Euros and he can play. I’m cautious with him now but to be back fully competitive, it will take a few weeks. If he’s completely fit, then no, it’s not a gamble to take him to France. Would I prefer him to stay here over the summer? No. You want your players to compete.”
In that context, the incident on Saturday night was distinctly untimely. Arsenal were made aware of what had happened on Sunday and are treating it as a “private matter”, but have taken a dim view over why their player was out so late. They will deal with the issue internally. It is understood Wilshere denies any involvement in the alleged assault.
The player is no stranger to controversy having been arrested and, eventually, cautioned for his part in a fight outside a nightclub six years ago. In 2011 he accepted a police warning for attempting to spit on a taxi driver, wearing a Tottenham Hotspur hat, who had refused to take him home apparently because he was too drunk. Wenger has regularly called on the midfielder to “master his life” after he has photographed on three separate occasions between 2013 and 2015 smoking in public.
In relation to the events at the weekend, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “At 2.15am on Sunday 3 April, police patrolling Coventry Street became aware of two groups of males involved in an altercation. Officers intervened and one man claimed he was assaulted. He did not require hospital treatment. There have been no arrests and inquiries continue. We will not comment on who may or may not have been involved.”
