Jack Wilshere as given Arsenal fans the perfect Christmas present by saying that he will sign a new deal with the club within weeks.
Wilshere still has two-and-a-half years of his £50,000-a-week deal left but the new contract could see him tied to the club until 2017.
“I’m talking to the club and I probably will be committing my future in the next couple of weeks. It’s not a problem.
“I think over the past few years the top players have probably thought they don’t see a bright future at Arsenal, but I think it’s different for them, they were a bit older. I’m 20, I’ve still got a long way in my career.
“Players like Robin (Van Persie) are older and maybe he thought, ‘I haven’t got time any more’. Cesc (Fabregas) wanted to go home, which was understandable.
“But I’m young and there are younger players around me, the likes of Chamberlain and Gibbs. In the next three or four years they can become top players and we can challenge for everything.”
Wilshere also admits he dreams of becoming club captain, adding:
“Yes, I think I can say I’d like to captain the club — one day. I’ve been here since I was nine and I know the traditions.”
Forget the likes of Walcott and Sagna who are both refusing to sign new deals with the Gunners. Jack Wilshere is a Arsenal kid through and through. He has been at Arsenal since he was nine. Arsenal is his club.
But Wilshere is more than just an Arsenal fan. He also happens to be the best English midfielder of his generation. Arsene Wenger has started to add a nucleus of English players to the Arsenal side and he could do a lot worse than build a team around Jack Wilshere.