Quite how Jack Wilshere ended up here, sitting on a balcony that boasts a quite spectacular view of Poole Harbour, is something he says began with the announcement of an England squad.

He remembers the date. 'August 28, the Sunday.' And he vividly recalls scanning the names only to realise he was not among them. 'It was the final straw,' he says. 'It hurt not being in there.'

Wilshere had already given some thought to the idea of leaving Arsenal, already dared contemplate a move away from the club he joined as a nine-year-old and never imagined leaving.

Jack Wilshere (pictured) spoke exclusively to Daily Mail chief sports reporter Matt Lawton

Wilshere moved to Bournemouth on loan on transfer deadline day in August

'There were a lot of midfielders and the manager brought another one in,' he says. 'I'd been injured for a while, and I was thinking I was at a stage of my career where I needed to play. I'm 24 and I've already missed too much football, and if I want to get to where I want to be it'd be no good coming off the bench in every game.'

When the disappointment of starting each match among the substitutes for his club was compounded by the pain of missing out altogether on selection for his country, enough was enough. He would call Arsene Wenger in the morning.

'I actually sent him a text to begin with,' says Wilshere in what is his first interview since completing his season-long loan move to Bournemouth.

The 24-year-old (right) completed his first Premier League fixture in two years against Spurs

Wilshere is attempting to revive his career on the south coast and is enjoying his time there

'I said I wanted to come in and speak to him. He said he wasn't around for a few days with it being international week. But he told me to call him and I did.

'We spoke a couple of times that day. It was the Monday and the transfer window was closing on the Wednesday so we didn't have long to sort something out. But I'd decided that I couldn't have a season where I'm not starting. I spoke to the boss and he said, "You will play". But I wanted more than that. I want to play week in, week out, be an important player for the team.

'I'm at my best when I'm playing regularly, when people are relying on me and I'm an important member of the team. I said to the boss, "You know what kind of player I am, what type of character I am, I need to play, it would be best if I leave".'

Stories quickly emerged. Crystal Palace were interested. So too, it was claimed, were AC Milan and Roma. 'Milan sent an email by all accounts,' he says. 'They said to come over but there was nothing firm in the offering. And I thought I'm not going to come over if there's nothing really doing.'

The midfielder has started five games for Bournemouth this season, playing 414 minutes

He admits now that he didn't get much time to think about leaving Arsenal when it happened

Neil Fewings of Wasserman moved swiftly, arranging meetings with Alan Pardew and Eddie Howe on the Tuesday and he moved on the Wednesday. 'I met Alan Pardew. He was good, to be fair. I really liked his ideas in terms of what he wanted to do with me at Palace.

'But a big part of me wanted to get away from it all, get away from London. And Eddie Howe was great. Straight away he talked about the things he thought I could improve on and stuff like that and I agreed with him. And what I liked was the fact that, even when they are struggling, Bournemouth never shy away from wanting to play football.

'Once I'd spoken to Eddie I made my mind up. There was something about him that made me feel I wanted to work with him.'

What did he mean by wanting to escape London? 'I just wanted a fresh start,' he says.

'It's hard when you are injured and I've had situations where I've been out for a year. Horrible.

'You are going to the training ground every day but you are not playing football. And they are long days in footballing terms. But you get stuck in a routine. You sometimes think "What exactly am I doing?" You feel miles away from it all. I just felt it would be good to come down here, leave all that behind, start fresh almost.'

Was he also referring to some of his more controversial off-the-field moments? 'You learn from those things,' he says. 'At 19 you think you know it all but it's not the case and I do feel I have matured in the last couple of years. You realise, as a footballer, that you are in a privileged position.'

Leaving Arsenal must have nevertheless been difficult. 'It all happened so quickly I didn't get much chance to think about it,' he says. 'I went into London Colney to train that morning and was in Bournemouth in the afternoon.

Wilshere had the opportunity to join a number of clubs but chose to head to Bournemouth

He has been impressed with the hard work shown by manager Eddie Howe (right)

England interim manager Gareth Southgate watched Wilshere at Bournemouth last week

WILSHERE'S MINUTES FOR BOURNEMOUTH September 10: Bournemouth 1-0 West Brom - 27 mins September 17: Man City 4-0 Bournemouth - 68 mins September 24: Bournemouth 1-0 Everton - 76 mins October 1: Watford 2-2 Bournemouth - 74 mins October 15: Bournemouth 6-1 Hull - 79 mins October 22: Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham - 90 mins Advertisement

'It's only really now that I've given it a bit of thought. I've got a lot of friends there. Not just the players. The staff. I've known many of them most of my life. They've been a big part of my life. Someone like Colin Lewin (the physiotherapist).

'You can imagine me and Colin have become close, we've spent that much time together. As a player you don't want to spend too much time with the medical staff but I'll miss them.'

He has so many fond memories, dating back even before making his debut against Blackburn as a 16-year-old. 'I was on 95 quid a week as a scholar, still living at home with my mum and dad,' he says.

'I first trained with the first team at 14. I remember three or four of us being called over to join some of the first-team lads. Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and Ray Parlour. I was completely out of my depth but all I could think was, "Don't lose the ball".

'I used to commute to London Colney (for training) every day from the family home in Hitchin. I used to get the train to Finsbury Park, then the Underground to Cockfosters. All the scholars would meet at Cockfosters and have breakfast in Miracles, the cafe across the road from the Tube station.

'They used to do an 80p breakfast. Then the minibus would pick us up to take us to training and drop us back after we'd had our school lessons in the afternoon. I once fell asleep on the train home and woke up in Peterborough.'

He has played in eight Premier League games this season and his fitness has returned

He has become a focal figure in Bournemouth's midfield and has helped them improve

The Cherries midfielder in conversation with Daily Mail chief sports reporter Matt Lawton

He eventually moved into digs. 'With Wojciech Szczesny,' he says. 'We became good mates but he's completely mad. He used to keep me up playing his guitar until two in the morning. He's a real character, crazy.'

Wilshere was 18, turning 19, when he became an established member of Wenger's midfield. It was not long before he was being described as the one English midfielder with the skill and vision to play for a team like Barcelona.

That season, 2010-2011, he made 35 Premier League appearances and 49 in all. By then he was also playing for England, with then national team manager Fabio Capello describing him as 'the future'.

WILSHERE'S APPEARANCE RECORD 2012-13: 25 | 2013-14: 24 2015-16: 14 | 2015-16: 8 *stats from the Premier League only* Advertisement

In hindsight he now wonders if the first of a series of serious injuries was a consequence of too much too young. He suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle in the summer of 2011, and missed the entire season that followed. Indeed it was 17 months before he played Premier League football again.

'The only problem I ever had with a load issue, if you like, was the first injury — the stress fracture,' he says. 'I played 60 games that year and my body was still maturing. I was 19. People now say, "You played a lot at that age". But at the time you're playing well, for Arsenal in the Premier League and for England, and you just want to keep playing as much as you can. And I didn't feel like I was running into trouble. I just wanted to keep going.'

Other major problems have followed. The pin that was used to fix his ankle had to be removed because it was causing serious discomfort, while ligament damage to his left ankle would force him to endure another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

There was a fractured foot and in August 2015 came yet another setback, a broken fibula suffered in pre-season training and something that he only returned from in April this year. It was only last weekend that he completed a 90-minute match for the first time in two years.

'I didn't even realise it was that long,' he says. 'But it was nice to get through a whole game again.

He last played for Arsenal in the 3-1 away win at Watford in late August in the Premier League

Wilshere left Gunners to join the Cherries just days later and hasn't looked back since

'I could have lasted 90 maybe a couple of weeks ago but I maybe wouldn't have been at my best for the last 10 minutes. There are certain things with me, little things, that tell me I'm getting back to full fitness. The first five yards, having that power and speed to get away from an opponent, is an important part of my game.'

He admits he was 'not fully fit' when England manager Roy Hodgson chose to take him to the European Championship in the summer, only to then add that he was 'fit enough' and probably earned his place on the back of the role he played in qualification.

But he is certainly in better shape now. 'I probably last felt this good playing for England against Slovenia in 2015,' he says. 'Life is different down here. Bournemouth has everything Arsenal has, in terms of facilities at the training ground but it's a bit cosier. The chef cooks good food. All the staff have been great to me. And the manager, for me, is one of the best. He's always on the training pitch.

Wilshere has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons and has played infrequently

The injuries have resulted in a difficult few years but he has become a regular starter again

SUPER STAT 141 - Injuries last season meant Wilshere managed just 141 minutes of Premier League football last season Advertisement

'He has this "train-to-win" philosophy. In the week you work on things he believes will help in the game you're preparing for. That seems obvious but isn't always the case.

'It's really competitive. It's hard. I'm feeling probably the fittest I've ever felt. The manager has a leader board for wins in training. I'm improving. Had a big win today. He has a "trainer of the month award". And he films every training session and will sit you down and go through clips. I've never done that before.'

So what of the future? Will he stay here on the south coast, enjoying the view he calls 'a joke' from the apartment he shares with his fiancee, or does he hope to return to Arsenal?

Wilshere was part of the England squad that disappointed at Euro 2016 in France

He admits now that he was 'not fully fit' when Roy Hodgson chose him before the tournament

'I haven't really thought about my future beyond getting a season under my belt and just trying to improve as a player,' he says.

'To be honest your question is a hard question to answer because I don't know what to say. I genuinely don't know if I am going to end up at Arsenal or somewhere else.

'If you'd ask me two months ago if I was going to finish my career at Arsenal then I would have said, "Yeah, of course".