Arsene Wenger wants Jack Wilshere to sign new Arsenal contract 'very quickly'

Arsene Wenger is eager for Jack Wilshere to commit his future to Arsenal "very quickly" as the rejuvenated midfielder's contract saga rumbles on.

Wilshere's current deal is due to expire at the end of June and an agreement over an extension has yet to be reached with negotiations, originally scheduled for December, pushed back during a busy festive fixture schedule.

The 26-year-old academy graduate has spent his entire senior career at Arsenal bar two loan spells with Bolton Wanderers and Bournemouth and has repeatedly voiced his desire to stay in north London, yet revealed in early January that talks had not progressed.

He is currently free to discuss a pre-contract agreement with any overseas suitors amid reports from the Mirror that Juventus have enquired about his services.

It was claimed by the Mail, among others, that injury-prone Wilshere, who has dramatically strengthened his claim for a return to the England squad ahead of this summer's World Cup after starting 12 matches across all competitions since December, had been presented with an official offer that included a cut to his £90,000-a-week [$124,829] basic pay but a similar bonus structure.

Wenger insisted earlier this month that Arsenal were "trying" to make progress with regards to a new contract and said he was positive and doing the "the maximum I can to make him happy".

Quizzed again on the issue at a press conference held before Thursday night's [22 February] Europa League last-32 second-leg tie against Swedish minnows Ostersunds FK at the Emirates Stadium, the manager once again expressed his desire to see Wilshere sign on the dotted line.

"That decision doesn't depend only on me," he told reporters, per Goal. "I want him to sign very quickly. We are still to make the decision and find the pen somewhere. I'm happy to give him one."

With Alexis Sanchez having been sent to Manchester United in January as part of a straight swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil finally putting pen to paper on a lucrative new three-and-a-half-year deal thatmakes him the highest-paid player in club history [BBC Sport], Wilshere and long-term absentee Santi Cazorla are now the only senior Gunners players currently scheduled to become free agents at the end of the season.

Wenger has not ruled out the possibility of the latter earning an extension, although claimed it would "depend on his medical ability [to play] at the top level" as he continues to work through repeated setbacks on the road to recovery from a horrendous, long-term achilles problem that has prevented him from making a single appearance since October 2016.

Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck and Nacho Monreal are all out of contract in 2019, likewise goalkeepers Petr Cech and David Ospina. Wenger has also stated his wish to keep Welbeck despite the forward's lack of goalscoring prowess in comparison to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane.