Arsenal transfer news: Jack Wilshere is being 'hassled' out of the club by Arsene Wenger, says Tony Cascarino

Jack Wilshere is being “hassled” out of Arsenal by Arsene Wenger after being sent out on loan to Bournemouth, according to former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino.

The decision taken by Sam Allardyce to drop Wilshere from his first England squad since replacing Sam Allardyce triggered talks between Wenger and the midfielder, and resulted in the 24-year-old agreeing to join Bournemouth on a season-long loan in an effort to guarantee first-team football.

Many expect Wilshere to return to Arsenal’s first-team plans if he can prove his fitness, with the player himself admitting that he still sees his long-term future at the Emirates Stadium, but Cascarino believes that Wenger has signalled the end of Wilshere’s Arsenal career by removing him from his first-team plans.

With Wilshere suffering heavily from injuries over the past four years, his development at Arsenal has ground to a halt and left him facing a season struggling for first-team football, with Wenger adding £35m Swiss international Granit Xhaka to his midfielder options that also includes Mohamed Elneny, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Aaraon Ramsey – once the midfielder returns from his latest injury setback.

But despite the academy graduate growing into a firm fan favourite among the fans, Cascarino believes this is the beginning of the end for Wilshere, and used the example of Joe Hart being forced out of Manchester City by Pep Guardiola as an example of WIlshere’s fate.

Writing in The Times, Cascarino said: “I’ve heard a lot of people this week putting a very positive spin on Jack Wilshere’s season-long loan to Bournemouth. ‘Good for Jack, he’s going to play football,’ they say. But the reality is that this move is no different, no less brutal, than Joe Hart being hassled out of Manchester City.”

Cascarino adds: “This stinks of Wenger wanting him out of the club. He’s done exactly what Pep Guardiola has done to Hart at City. I think issues off the pitch have played a role and Wenger has decided that Jack isn’t part of his plans any more. I have no doubt that Jack would have sat down with the gaffer after the first few games of the season — as many of us do — and it’s clear that Wenger hasn’t given him the answers he wanted. We have to stop kidding ourselves — he’s been forced out of the club.”

Cascarino was also critical of Wilshere’s attitude off the pitch after becoming involved in a number of incidents away from football during his career. While he admitted that he did not know the England midfielder well, Cascerino expressed a concern for what Wilshere could get up to in Bournemouth, given its reputation as one of the hotbeds for nights out.

“I don’t know Jack and I don’t really know how he conducts himself off the field,” wrote Cascarino. “But what I can say is that he’s getting injured far too regularly, and when I was getting regular injuries during my career, it coincided with the period when I wasn’t living my life right off the field. I laughed when I heard Jack was going to Bournemouth, because it has a reputation as one of the best party towns in England. He’s going to be there with his best mate, Benik Afobe. I just hope he gets his head down and concentrates on playing football.”