Arsenal Transfer News: Jack Wilshere Contract Rumours, Latest on Isco

Arsenal are reportedly ready to offer Jack Wilshere a new five-year deal despite his persistent injury issues.

According to the Daily Star (h/t the Daily Telegraph) the England international will pen a new contract worth a whopping £31 million over its term, with the midfielder said to be set to pick up a £110,000-a-week salary.

While Wilshere’s natural talent would typically warrant those kind of figures, his injury record throughout his career means it’s a decision from the Gunners that will raise some eyebrows. After all, the 24-year-old has not yet taken to the field so far this season in a competitive game.

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Indeed, Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe feels as though the mid-season business done by the Gunners to this point may heap further pressure on Wilshere:

From the outside looking in, it seems as though the player’s career is now at something of a precarious point. After all, Arsenal have myriad options in the middle of the field and an array of talent in this area of the squad, too. So if the England man continues to pick up injuries, the chances are manager Arsene Wenger will seek to build this team with him as a peripheral figure.

As Bleacher Report’s Sean Swaby noted after another recent injury setback for Wilshere, his fitness problems are no longer a surprise:

Still, as a player who has come up through the club’s academy and been schooled in the Arsenal way of playing, the Gunners will surely be keen to cling on to him. It means Wilshere will likely be afforded a little more patience than most players in this scenario, which would be emphasised by a new lucrative contract.

But as popular as he is, there’s little tangible to suggest he deserves this extension. For Arsenal, such a long-term commitment to a player who has shown such inconsistency in terms of fitness is a major gamble.

Isco Could be Sold, Says Report

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According to El Confidencial (h/t James Cambridge of the Daily Express) Real Madrid could still move Isco on in January despite being reintroduced into the starting XI under Zinedine Zidane.

As Cambridge writes, the Spain international has been linked with a move to Arsenal previously and if he was to become available, it’d be little surprise to see the Gunners go after him.

As these clips show, Isco is a player who fits the club’s blueprint perfectly:

Although Arsenal have many players capable of operating behind the centre-forward, if Isco was to go on the market, they’d be foolish not to pursue him.

The 23-year-old plays the game with a bewitching flair, has a silky touch and can pick passes in tight positions. The Real fans adore him, too, and although he’s long been battling for a spot in the starting XI with James Rodriguez, he looks as though he’s going to get a long overdue chance under Zidane.

Isco has impressed under the new boss so far, as Tighe noted during Real’s last outing:

Under Rafael Benitez, when Isco wasn’t getting regular minutes in the first-team, a transfer looked a more realistic possibility. But given Zidane has made the former Malaga man a key part of his team already, he won’t be going anywhere for a while yet.

The money that’d likely be needed to prise Isco away from the Santiago Bernabeu could be better utilised by the Gunners anyway. Although the Spaniard would be a tremendous capture, he’d be an indulgence when you consider the quality Arsenal currently boast in this area of the field.