Jack Wilshere 'not ready' for Arsenal recall, says Arsene Wenger
Friday 15 April 2016 11:44, UK
Jack Wilshere will not be recalled for Sunday's Premier League visit of Crystal Palace, says Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
However, Wenger hinted that Wilshere could be in contention for a place in the squad to face West Bromwich Albion next Thursday.
The England midfielder has not played for the first team since the 2015 FA Cup final after suffering a broken leg during pre-season training, but completed the full 90 minutes against Swansea's U21s on Thursday.
Wilshere had already played 155 minutes in two previous U21 matches in a bid to earn a recall during the final few weeks of the season.
Speaking at Friday's pre-match press conference, Wenger said: "Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky played for the U21s yesterday but Wilshere needs one more game at least.
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"I have no news today but we had no reports that anyone had any problems.
"He will play for the U21s on Monday night and I will have to see how he is compared to his competitors.
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"Once he is through three or four games of course we will consider him."
Wenger has not given up hope of winning the title, even though Arsenal are 13 points adrift of leaders Leicester with six games to play, one more than their rivals.
"For everybody it's tight," he said. "Everybody is chasing. But there can still be twists and turns and we want to fight and still put pressure on teams in front of us.
"We need a strong run at home now and that's what we want to do. It is perceived that the championship is over but I don't think that completely, even if Leicester are in a strong position. We need to fight until the end of the season.
"We analyse the season after it finishes. We analyse games after games. We want to give our best until the end."
Wenger said Crystal Palace would provide stern opposition even though he believes their relegation worries are over.
"I think Crystal Palace should now be completely safe, even if they still need one or two points. They've got out of relegation trouble.
He's miles ahead on assists and the two combined, assists and scoring, shows he deserves this kind of award.
"It's a London derby. They have good forward potential with players like Bolasie, Zaha, Adebayor. They are a big offensive force. We need to rectify the fact we conceded goals at West Ham and be better defensively."
