Jack Wilshere was ‘shocked’ by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang transfer fee, wants Arsenal captain to sign new contract, recalls Mesut Ozil vision

Jack Wilshere says he would stay at Arsenal if he was in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s position.

The Gunners captain proved his worth once more by scoring twice in their 2-1 FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Saturday, but Aubameyang's future is still uncertain as he is yet to commit his future to Arsenal with less than a year left on his contract.

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Arsenal boss Mike Arteta remains confident of keeping his star man with former midfielder Wilshere insisting it is a must that the striker stays, calling him one of the best he has played with.

Wilshere, who ended his 10-year spell at the Emirates by joining West Ham in 2018, told talkSPORT: “It’s massive for the club that they get him to stay. You can see what he brings.

“I was there when he signed and straight away from the first training session, you knew that he was world class. He scores goals with his left and right foot, he can beat a man.

“I was lucky enough to play with a few players like that, but he was one of the best. If I was in his shoes? Arsenal’s a massive club. He’s the captain, the fans love him, he’s got the respect of the whole club.

“If I was him I’d stay, but it’s easy for me to say that. Listen, as I said, it’s important they keep him because he’s their go-to man, he’s their best player, he’s their leader.

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“When the team is down, everyone looks to him to do something and he’s come up with the goods.”

Aubameyang has scored 70 goals in 109 appearances since joining Arsenal for £56million from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 - more than any other player in that period.

But Wilshere admits he was initially surprised by the mega transfer fee.

“I only played with Aubameyang for six months," he said. "It was almost like a shock because at Arsenal we weren’t used to spending £60m on a world class player.

“And there were rumours and all of a sudden it happened and he was there.

“In his first game, he scored [against Everton] and we all knew he was special. He’s definitely up there.”

Wilshere, who made 197 first-team appearances for Arsenal, believes Aubameyang’s chances of staying have improved by winning his first piece of silverware with the club.

Most goals by Prem players since 2018

Arsenal signed Aubameyang in January 2018 and he has outscored everyone since then

Aubameyang: 70 goals in 109 games

Mohamed Salah: 68 goals in 119 games (Liverpool)

Sergio Aguero: 61 goals in 87 games (Man City)

Sadio Mane: 59 goals in 116 games (Liverpool)

Raheem Sterling: 59 goals in 114 games (Man City)

Harry Kane: 59 goals in 91 games

He added: “To win the first trophy will change a few things in his head.

“Since Arteta’s come in, he had a job of turning the players’ heads and making them think they can win trophies. Arsenal is a club that should be winning trophies.

“As you get that first one, it just makes it a bit real and you think they can do it in the future. It will definitely help.”

Another Arsenal player who faces an uncertain future is Mesut Ozil, who did not play a single minute of football following the restart of the 2019/20 season in June.

The playmaker is the club’s top earner on £350,000-a-week and does not appear to be in Arteta’s plans moving forward.

Wilshere played alongside Ozil for five years at Arsenal and concedes something has gone on behind the scenes.

He said: “In terms of his footballing ability, I loved playing with him. He’s one of my favourite players to play with. He’d give you the ball at the right time, the right pace.

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“So I’m surprised he’s not playing, but I don’t know what’s going on there with that.

“There must be something that we don’t know because I can’t see why he’s not playing in terms of his footballing ability.

“Especially with Aubameyang, the type of player he is, you can imagine Ozil sat behind him feeding him balls. It would be unbelievable.

“It’s obviously something that we don’t know about. I’m sure Arteta has definitely got a plan and he’s putting that into practice.

“I’m sure we’re going to find out in the next couple of weeks what’s been going on.”