Arsenal Transfer News: Jack Wilshere Seeks Future Talks, Arturo Vidal Blow

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere is seeking talks with boss Arsene Wenger about his future role in the side.

The England international missed much of last season through injury—he started just nine Premier League games, per WhoScored.com—but is clearly eager to nail down a spot in the centre of Arsenal's midfield for the coming campaign.

However, he faces competition from the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Wilshere reported for pre-season training early to build up his fitness, and he is looking to mark himself out among his fellow midfielders, per Steve Bates in the Mirror:

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I haven’t spoken to the boss about what plans he has for me—but I will do before the start of the season. At the moment, I’m just concentrating on getting fit.

I had a good end to the season and I just want to keep it going. That’s why I wanted to come back in early for pre-season because I felt I missed too much of last season and wanted to give myself the best opportunity to get fit. 

The competition is strong in midfield so, yes, it’s down to us as individuals to make that place ours but I’m up for the challenge and I’m sure the other boys are as well.

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Wenger has warned that because of the glut of central midfielders at Arsenal, "some [will] have to go wide as well," per Bates.

The flank is not Wilshere's preferred position—he is more familiar with the central areas—but with Ozil and Ramsey in the side, he needs to make a strong case to be played in the middle.

Recent rumours have suggested Manchester City may be lining up a £40 million bid for the 23-year-old, per the Daily Star's Jeremy Cross.

While Wilshere is very unlikely to depart the Emirates Stadium this summer, transfer chatter may increase if he becomes unsettled at Arsenal—a situation that could occur if he is played out of position.

Wilshere has yet to live up to his enormous potential, and the 2015-16 season is a crucial one for him to prove he is a true star, perhaps by pushing Arsenal toward the title.

However, to play his best football, he needs to be in a central position, but he will have to prove to Wenger that he deserves to fill that role.

Vidal Blow as Bayern Swoop

The Gunners look set to miss out on rumoured central-midfield target Arturo Vidal, as the Chilean star is on the verge of a switch to Bayern Munich.

According to TuttoSport (h/t David Amoyal of journalist Gianluca Di Marzio's website), the Bundesliga club have offered Juventus €30 million (£20.9 million) for Vidal, but the Old Lady are holding out for €45 million (£31 million).

Regardless, the move does seem to be on, as Bayern apparently already have an agreement with the 28-year-old, per Amoyal.

This is not the first time Bayern have gone after Vidal. German football writer Raphael Honigstein suggested they looked to take him from Bayer Leverkusen before he went to Juve in 2011:

They look to have got their man this time, though, and he will make a fine replacement for the recently departed Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Arsenal may have a proliferation of central midfielders, but Vidal's defensive prowess would have made him a good buy for Wenger, as the Gunners are currently overreliant on Francis Coquelin.

However, missing out on the Chilean would not be the end of the world, and it may be that Wilshere himself is deployed in the holding-midfield role, as he has been for England recently.