Jack Wilshere taunts aimed at Tottenham overshadow Arsenal title ambitions

Midfielder says Arsenal can follow FA Cup triumph with Premier League but joins fans in mocking north London rivals Spurs

Jack Wilshere puts the trophy on his head (GETTY IMAGES)

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere declared on Sunday that the club need to achieve a Premier League title, but then took the gloss off the club’s retention of the FA Cup by joining fans in raucous taunting of Tottenham Hotspur.

The 23-year-old, whose struggle to re-establish himself as a member of Arsène Wenger’s starting line was underlined in his substitute’s appearance at Wembley, took to the microphone in front of thousands of fans outside the Emirates Stadium to sing anti-Spurs songs on a balcony alongside his team-mates.

He asked: “What do we think of Tottenham?” To which fans replied: “Shit!” He then followed up with: “What do we think of shit?” “Tottenham!” the supporters shouted. Wilshere performed a similar stunt during last year’s victory celebrations.

The midfielder said the 4-0 victory over a desperately anaemic Aston Villa on Saturday was something the players viewed as a necessity rather than a source of jubilation, as they did when last year’s win over Hull City ended their nine-year trophy drought.

“The big one for us the Premier League,” Wilshere said. “We’ve progressed this year. We’ve finished third and got automatic Champions League qualification. We haven’t got that big game at the start of next season. Next year we feel that can really push Chelsea, [Manchester] City and [Manchester] United for the title.

“I think this season we’ve made a big step mentally. I remember in previous years going to big games, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, thinking ‘have we really got a chance today?’ But this year... we always thought we had a chance."

Mesut Özil added: “We want to win everything but there are many big teams who have the same goals as us. But I’m positive and I think we are on the right way with the team. Next season we want to defend our title and who knows maybe we will win other titles.”