Jack Wilshere has launched a strong defence of Arsene Wenger - saying his Arsenal future would be uncertain if the manager left the club.

The England midfielder's comments come amid growing unrest at the Emirates after yet another summer that has seen minimal activity in the transfer window - despite promises that large sums of money would be spent.

A defeat in the opening Premier League game of the season at home to Aston Villa only exacerbated the situation - seeing many supporters leave the stadium early, chant about spending money and booing the team.

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The Arsenal Supporters' Trust went as far as to issue a statement saying offering Wenger a new contract at this time would be "inappropriate".

Yet Wilshere stands by Wenger and says criticism of the current longest serving manager in the Premier League is "ridiculous".

"I want to win things with Arsenal and I want to be there in the future, but if the boss leaves then things could change," Wilshere told Zapsportz.com.

"Arsenal are always in my heart and by signing a deal for the next five years shows my commitment to them and their commitment to me so at the moment everything is good.

"Arsene Wenger has been there for so many years and he's always delivered trophies.

"OK we've had a little dip in the last five or six years, but he's a great manager and people who question his ability are ridiculous.

"He's qualified for the Champions' League for 16 years so I think he's the right man for the job."

Wilshere went on to discuss the difficulty posed by the departure of some big players in recent years - but remains confident looking to the future.

"We have lost a few strong, big-name players in recent years and that's hard for any club," the 21-year-old England midfielder said.

"First we lost Thierry Henry and then Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin Van Persie.

"That's hard, especially when Robin went to another team in England, it makes it harder for us to compete.

"But now we've got a good crop of young English players coming through and if we stay together and build something then we can win a trophy in the next few years."

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