Wenger: Arsenal working on new deal with Wilshere
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is close to putting pen to paper on a new deal with the club after manager Arsene Wenger again expressed the importance of keeping the long-serving player at the club.
Wilshere, 26, has enjoyed a startling return to fitness and form after an unexpected loan move to Bournemouth last season ended with a broken leg. Now, the England international is expected to sign a new contract, with the Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson reporting the two sides are close to agreeing to terms.
It is expected Wilshere will sign an incentive-laden £90,000-a-week deal that could see the player earn more than his current £110,000-a-week wages.
"We try to make progress and I told you that many times for [Mesut] Ozil," Wenger told reporters, referencing the German World Cup winner's new lucrative three-and-a-half-year deal. "I’m positive because I want him [Wilshere] to stay. I do the maximum I can to make him happy."
Wilshere's current deal expires in the summer. Talks have also kicked off with hat-trick wonder Aaron Ramsey, whose current contract expires in 2019.
"He is a little bit different because there is less time-constraint than with Jack," Wenger added. "With Jack it is now. With Aaron, do we lose two weeks or three weeks? It doesn’t matter much. I want him to stay as well."
Both Wilshere and Ramsey are fit and expected to play a role in Saturday's North London derby visit to rival Tottenham.