Ex Arsenal Player Joins West Ham

Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has joined Premier League club West Ham on a three-year deal. He was particularly delighted as he says that he has moved to the club he supported as a boy.

The 26-year-old’s contract with the Gunners expired at the end of June and he parted ways.

“It feels special. Many people know that I’ve had a special bond with this club growing up,” he said.

“I’ve got good memories of my childhood supporting West Ham, watching them at Upton Park.”

The Hammers, as West Ham are fondly known as, are also close to signing forward Andriy Yarmolenko.

A fee of about 20m euros (£17.66m) is understood to have been agreed with Borussia Dortmund for the Ukranian.

Wilshere will fly to Switzerland to link up with new West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini’s squad at their pre-season training camp.

West Ham director of football Mario Husillos said: “Manuel and I identified him as a target as soon as we joined the club and we are delighted to have succeeded in securing Jack’s signature above a number of other teams.”

Wilshere has made 197 first-team appearances for Arsenal and was part of the 2014 and 2015 FA Cup-winning squads.

The 26-year old Englishman spent the 2016-17 campaign on loan at fellow Premier League side Bournemouth. Following that, he returned to the Gunners and made 38 appearances last season. However, he was not included in Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad.

The 28-year old Yarmolenko has netted 35 goals in 77 appearances for his country.

He joined Dortmund from Dynamo Kiev in August 2017 but struggled to find his best form in Germany. He has scored only six goals in 26 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

Wilshere made his debut for the Arsenal senior team in 2010 and has been in the Arsenal academy since 2001. Prior to Bournemouth, he had a brief spell with Bolton Wanderers.