Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere says sorry for smoking and it won’t happen again

Steve Brenner in New York 

26 July 2014 

Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, talks to Jack Wilshere during a training session. Photograph: Stuart Macfarlane/Arsenal FC

Jack Wilshere has apologised for the “unacceptable” images of him smoking in a Las Vegas swimming pool this month and has said it will never happen again. The 22-year-old Arsenal and England midfielder, who was pictured outside a nightclub with a cigarette in his mouth last season, is well aware of his responsibilities as a role model and a parent and knows such incidents cannot keep occurring.

Arsène Wenger is understood to be relaxed about the pictures but he will remind Wilshere again about the ramifications of a highly paid athlete caught smoking.

Speaking before Saturday night’s friendly against the New York Red Bulls, the midfielder was desperately sorry for his actions and knows grave errors of judgment have been made. “I regret it. I’ve been seen before doing it. I said then I made a mistake and I made a mistake again,” Wilshere said. “People make mistakes. I’m young, I’ll learn from it. I realise the consequences it has and the effect on kids growing up. I have kids and I don’t want them growing up to think their dad smokes and it’s OK for a footballer to smoke because it’s not. It’s unacceptable and I will accept the consequences and move on.

“It does motivate me to try harder in training and not just in training; it motivates me to improve because a lot of people start to talk, people who don’t know me but want to have an opinion, and it is down to me to let my feet do the talking.

“This is a big season for me. I came back early to pre-season to show people my commitment. I am fully committed to the club and to my job and I want to show everyone that.”

The pictures of Wilshere smoking were condemned by many who are worried that he is failing to live up to expectations following a season hampered by injury. Certainly the arrivals of the Chilean Alexis Sánchez from Barcelona and the France full-back Mathieu Debuchy have givenArsenal fans cause for optimism, a view shared by Wilshere.

“I think over the past few seasons I’ve had a few injuries. I know I’ve got going, had to stop and get going again,” he added. “This season I’m looking to have a really great pre-season and get a really good base of fitness and take that into the season.

“The new signings have definitely given us a lift. It has been different this year. Normally I’m on holiday and we don’t make signings, we make them a little later. But this year we’ve been really positive and gone into the market and got a couple of really great players.”