Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has praised the decision of Jack Wilshere to exit the club in search of regular football.

Wilshere ended his stay at the Emirates this summer after 17 years at the club, moving to West Ham on a free transfer and signing a three-year deal.

It can’t have been an easy decision for Wilshere, but his determination to search for more regular football is admirable, and Parlour, who left the Gunners for Middlesbrough in 2004 in similar situation to Wilshere’s, has backed the 26-year-old’s call to end his stay at the Emirates.

“Jack Wilshere has made a big decision and it was his to make,” he said. “He met the manager and realised he might have been third or fourth in the pecking order. As a player who has missed so much football, he needs to play.

“I’m gutted that he’s left because I would love to see him still in an Arsenal shirt, but I’m really pleased he’s gone to a club to play football because there is nothing worse than training hard all week and then sitting in the stands.

“West Ham have got a very good signing there. We always look at his fitness record, but if he can stay fit we all know how good he is. That is what West Ham have to manage now.”
[Quotes via Standard]

Wilshere was left out of Gareth Southgates’ England squad for this summer’s World Cup, and his move to the Hammers may well give him the opportunity to stake a claim with his national side again.