Mikel Arteta has announced that Jack Wilshere will train with Arsenal as the 29-year-old free agent looks to restart his career – but the Spaniard has ruled out the possibility of the club signing him.

Wilshere was released by the Gunners in 2018 after a 17-year association with the north Londoners, joining West Ham, where his injury struggles continued.

A move to Bournemouth last year was short-lived and having left the South Coast club at the end of the 2020-21 season, Wilshere is on the lookout for a fresh start and has trained with Serie B side Como recently in an effort to boost his fitness.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Burnley, Arteta – who was once a team-mate of Wilshere’s – confirmed that he would join the squad at London Colney.

He said: ‘We are willing to help him as much as we possibly can. He knows that and that’s the situation.’

However, when he was asked whether there was a chance Wilshere could make a sensational return to the club he joined aged nine, Arteta was unequivocal in his response, saying: ‘I wouldn’t take it that far.’

Wilshere joined Arsenal in 2001 and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually breaking Cesc Fabregas’ record as the club’s youngest-ever league debutant when he featured against Blackburn at the age of just 16 years and 236 days.

After a phenomenal display in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 clash against Barcelona in February 2011, it looked as if the sky was the limit for the silky midfielder.

His progress was derailed though as persistent ankle problems and questions over his lifestyle away from the pitch saw his time at the Emirates peter out before he joined the Hammers.

Further ankle and groin issues blighted his time at the London Stadium and while it was thought that a drop down to the Championship might be just what he needed, Wilshere couldn’t cement himself in the starting XI.

Arteta has previously said that ‘the doors are always open’ at Arsenal, with Wilshere telling Sky Sports News last week that the comment had woken him up to the chance of being able to train with the club he loves once more.

Wilshere said: ‘I really enjoyed playing with him [Arteta], sharing a dressing room with him. To hear him come out and say the door is always open is nice.

‘I think it [training with Arsenal] can only help me. As you said, being around good players, training with world-class players and, as well, just being in a team environment, is something that I am interested in.

‘I am sure that I will have a conversation with someone at the club over the next couple of days.’