Jack Wilshere Reportedly Quit Arsenal After 15-Minute Talk with Unai Emery

Jack Wilshere reportedly decided to leave Arsenal after having a 15-minute conversation with Unai Emery, during which the new manager revealed he would not play a key role in his plans. 

Wilshere spent 17 years at Arsenal but left for West Ham United in the summer in search of more regular football.

Per John Cross for the Daily Star, Emery said:

"I spoke with him for 15 minutes here in Colney [training ground] before he left. And then, he chooses what the best was for him in his future.

"Our conversation was very clear. For me, one thing is important for him—to be a protagonist in a new project. Because maybe here he would not be the protagonist each match on the pitch.

"It is more competitive situation for him to play. I am happy if he finds [an opportunity to be the] protagonist at West Ham. The first conversation was in this direction.

"I think we closed this conversation in this moment."

Wilshere's contract was up in June, and while he was offered a new deal at the Emirates Stadium, it was clear he would not play the role he hoped to under Emery.

The 26-year-old came through the ranks at Arsenal and made almost 200 appearances for the club—a tally he would have been surpassed had he not spent much of his Gunners career dealing with injury problems.

Those fitness issues could be why Emery felt he could not count on Wilshere to play a more important role.

The midfielder isn't lacking talent, and when he's fit and firing, he's a technically gifted, inventive player who can carve open defences.

Emery's Arsenal play Wilshere's West Ham on Saturday, and the latter will be aiming to show why he would have merited a place in the former's team:

He may also feel he has a point to prove to those who say he's no longer the player he once was, such as football writer Andrew Gaffney:

Wilshere will hope to find a new lease of life under Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini and show the kind of form that can silence his critics and resurrect his England career, starting with a strong performance against his former side.

Emery may not have found a place for Wilshere in his Gunners side, but he hopes the Englishman can do well for the Irons.

"I wish him the best in his career at West Ham," he added. "But not [on] Saturday."