Arsène Wenger has told Jack Wilshere it is “down to him to master his life” as he seeks to draw a line under the furore of his latest smoking incident. The Arsenal manager said Wilshere was sorry for being photographed holding a shisha pipe during a night out in London last Sunday.
But Wenger, who suggested Alexis Sánchez still had a chance of featuring against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday, also said he did not doubt Wilshere’s commitment.
He added that the England midfielder was always the first player in for training and the last to leave. “I’ve spoken with him about that [smoking] and he’s not a smoker,” Wenger said. “He is sorry for what has happened. It’s down to him to master his life. He had the day off the next day and he went out to watch the Super Bowl. When he’s here, he has to follow the rules that we dictate here; when he’s out of his job, it’s his own responsibility to behave like he wants to behave.”
There has been a sense of exasperation behind the scenes at Arsenal over the photograph of Wilshere with the shisha, largely because he had been reprimanded on two occasions for being caught smoking.
Wenger said Wilshere did not deserve a reputation for being a bad boy. “I observe him well and he behaves in a very professional way. Every morning, he’s certainly one of the first in and every afternoon certainly the last out. He works very hard. He’s gone through some bad spells in his career and always recovered. It would be wrong to give him that kind of reputation because he’s a serious player.
“You have been 20 as well. You need sometimes to relieve the pressure a bit. I think today it’s much more difficult because everywhere you go, people make photos and a photo shows one second of your life. It doesn’t define who you are. I remember when I was in Brazil, I have been seen with some photos by people I didn’t even know were around me, so you have to be very careful about that.”
Wenger said Wilshere was expected to return to full training on Sunday after having ankle ligament surgery in late November. The manager appeared to backtrack over Sánchez’s chances for the derby, having ruled him out on Thursday because of hamstring damage.
“I don’t know about Sánchez yet – I need medical advice on that,” Wenger said. “I need, as well, to see what he can do in training. He wants to play. He’s very keen. He feels he can defy the medical people. He is so keen to play he thinks he can get over strains.”
