Jack Wilshere has long road ahead of him at Arsenal, says Ian Wright

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright believes Jack Wilshere is not "in a good place" at the Emirates Stadium following his sending off in a Under-23 game this week.

Wilshere, 25, was sent off in a game against Manchester City U-23 on 21 August for grabbing City midfielder Matthew Smith around the neck following a late challenge, with the incident sparking a mass brawl between the two sets of players.

The England midfielder has only recently returned to fitness after a broken fibula forced him to miss the final months of last season on loan at Bournemouth, and is working towards featuring in Arsenal's first-team again.

Wright criticised Wilshere's conduct in the U-23 game and said he had a long way to go to become a regular for the Gunners.

"For me, he doesn't show that he's in a good place to retaliate like he did. It's worrying times for him – I do feel for him," Wright told Sky Sports.

"I know he's been injured and the guy's caught him a bit late, but you've got to be bigger than that, he's got to get on with that and show that he's in a different place.

"He's got to look at himself this morning. He's been through injury, no fault of his own, he went to Bournemouth and didn't pull up any trees," Wright continued.

"Arsene Wenger, in particular, thought he was going to be the best player at Bournemouth, it didn't happen, and now he finds himself playing in the Under-23s, where you're young, up and coming players who want to put it about.

"He needs to realise where he is, where he needs to be and where he needs to get to."

Wilshere spent most of the 2016/17 campaign on loan at Bournemouth, making 27 league appearances – including 22 starts – for the Cherries.

Sampdoria and Turkish club Antalyaspor have made offers for the midfielder, who has one year left on his Arsenal contract, while West Ham and Swansea have offered to take him on loan.

He faces tough competition for a place in the Gunners' central midfield, with Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka all ahead of him in the pecking order.