Wilshere: Arsenal must win a trophy this season

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Jack Wilshere has vowed to help end Arsenal’s eight-year trophy drought this season. Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to win any silverware since they lifted the FA Cup in 2005.
And the Emirates outfit have not won the Premier League since the year before that. However, they did manage to squeeze past rivals Tottenham at the death last season to claim a Champions League qualifying tie.
Now young midfielder Wilshere has pledged to play his part in appeasing frustrated Gooners and claiming one of four chances of winning a pot this time of asking. He said: “I have been reading things like: ‘Arsenal aren’t title contenders’, but we have had that for years.
“We feel we have a great squad, as we showed towards the end of last season, when we went 11 games unbeaten after losing that game at Tottenham. So if we can reproduce that form, then we have a chance. When we had to get the results, we went out there and got them, and that’s what we need to take into this season.
“We understand the fans’ frustration, because we care as well. Arsenal used to be a team that won everything, you know – trophies and titles, but now we haven’t won anything for eight years, so we know what we have to do.”
Wilshere is fit and raring to go and gets his chance when Arsenal host Aston Villa in the Premier League opener tomorrow. And he concedes it isn’t good enough simply to be fighting for a top four spot.
He added: “It is time to start producing trophies and being closer to the top of the league at the end of the season. We don’t just want to be fighting for fourth place – we want to be up there with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. We feel we are good enough to be there.
“Last season, we lost games in cup competitions in which we could have been there at the end. We lost against Bradford away in the Capital One Cup and Blackburn at home in the FA Cup. We should never be losing games like that, but this year we have to get over that, grow up a bit and realise that we need a trophy – Arsenal’s too good not to be winning trophies. We will be in four competitions this year. We know we have to win one of them.”