Arsenal boss wants to build future around English talent

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels the club must build its future around young English players like Jack Wilshere.

Three Lions midfielder Wilshere, 20, has just returned from a long injury lay-off and is understood to be in preliminary negotiations over a contract extension.

And Wenger believes he and fellow England internationals Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can become the heartbeat of the Gunners’ team.

Wenger said: "Jack has two-and-a-half years left - that's quite a long time. We have built a team where we have a lot of young English players, like Gibbs, Chamberlain, Wilshere.”

He added: “Jack has always been very committed to this club and I hope he will show that.

“There is only one way to show it and that is to commit your long-term future to the club.”

Arsenal are now benefiting from their home-grown recruitment policy, which Wenger feels will make a strong bond between the developing players and their club.

He said: "If the quality is local, it is of course even better because it gives you more guarantee of stability because the players who are English who play for Arsenal are more likely to stay for a longer term than foreign players.

“But we look first at quality, that is the most important thing.”