Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 8y

Arsenal want to send Jack Wilshere on loan before deadline - source

Arsenal are looking to send Jack Wilshere out on loan this season to give the midfielder a chance to revive his injury-plagued career, a club source has told ESPN FC.

Wilshere has lost his place as a regular starter after missing nearly all of last season with a broken ankle and will be allowed to go on a season-long loan in search of playing time.

He could be one of several players to exit temporarily before the transfer window ends on Wednesday, with centre-back Calum Chambers also set for a season-long loan move to Middlesbrough, the source said.

Wilshere has made just two substitute appearances this season and was left out of Sam Allardyce's first England squad because of his lack of playing time. The midfielder, who made his Arsenal debut at 16 but has seen his progress stunted by a number of serious injuries, could now be sent abroad or to another Premier League club in order to get his career back on track.

Wenger has no plans to sell Wilshere, who came out of the club's academy and has long been tipped as a future Gunners captain, but both sides realise that the player would benefit from a loan move, the source said.

The Gunners would prefer that the 24-year-old made his loan move abroad rather than to a rival Premier League club.

Wilshere fell further down the pecking order when Wenger brought in Granit Xhaka as a central midfielder this season, with Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny also fighting for playing time. He was brought on as a right winger for the last 20 minutes against Watford on Saturday, a position he has said he does not want to play.

While a loan move has yet to be agreed, Arsenal are looking into options and are hoping to get a deal done before the end of Wednesday's transfer deadline.

The 21-year-old Chambers is expected to complete his loan move to Middlesbrough on Tuesday as the centre-back also goes out in search of regular playing time. Chambers was brought in from Southampton two years ago but has failed to establish himself as a regular in the team.

Wenger even preferred to play newly signed 20-year-old Rob Holding over Chambers in Arsenal's last two games, while the impending arrival of Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia will make chances even harder to come by.

Wenger still rates Chambers highly, though, and wants to see him develop by playing regularly as a centre-back in the Premier League.

Peter O'Rourke contributed to this report

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