The FA released the following statement on Tuesday:

Arsenal midfield player Jack Wilshere has been charged by The FA with making an offensive and/or insulting and/or abusive gesture.

The charge follows an alleged gesture made during the fixture between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, December 14. The incident was not seen by match officials but was caught on video.

Wilshere has been charged retrospectively by The FA under a new pilot project for potential ‘not seen’ incidents in Premier League matches.

Under the new process, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel will be asked by The FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.

For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the panel were unanimous.

Wilshere has until 6pm on December 18 to respond to the charge.