Thursday 7 April 2016 11:50, UK
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he has "spoken to" Jack Wilshere after allegations he was involved in an assault.
Wilshere has denied being involved in an alleged incident that occurred in London's West End in the early hours of Sunday morning.
On Monday, the Daily Mirror released footage that allegedly showed Wilshere speaking to police in the aftermath of an altercation.
Arsenal have confirmed a "fracas" did take place and Wilshere was present, but say the England international has told them that he was not involved.
Wenger has spoken to the player about the incident but feels it may have been made out to be more than it actually was and that the club are focusing solely on returning Wilshere to full fitness.
Our focus is on him coming back. There was no training session the next day. He had an off day and sometimes the players go out.
"I spoke to him," said Wenger. "It looks to have been taken out of proportion a little bit and these are matters we like to keep internal.
"Our focus is on him coming back. There was no training session the next day. He had an off day and sometimes the players go out.
"He works very hard and I think he will have a good test tomorrow night [in the Under-21s against Newcastle]."
Wenger added: "At the moment I believe he's a real football brain, Jack Wilshere. He loves football. He's very serious, very dedicated. The only thing that could stop him from having the career he can make is injuries.
"He had the history of his injuries. It's been bad recently. But I hope he can get rid of that and make the career he deserves."
As well as having Wilshere back, Wenger could receive another boost to his midfield ranks for the run-in with Aaron Ramsey potentially making an appearance in Friday's under-21 match.
The Arsenal manager feels the injury situation at his club is now "quite positive" after many months without several key players.
"We have a similar squad [as we did against] Watford," he confirmed. "Aaron Ramsey might join in because he had a good training session yesterday. Mathieu Flamini is back also.
"Tomas Rosicky will play for the Under-21s on Friday night. We have Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming back and Santi Cazorla, and they should not be too far. Overall the injury situation looks quite positive."
