In a sense, that is true -- right now Wilshere exists in a weird limbo. Having spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, he is now technically an Arsenal player once more. However, it does not feel as if he'll be there for long. Having failed to impress sufficiently on the south coast, it now seems certain he'll leave the London club permanently.

It's telling that amid all the rumours of contract negotiations with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, there has been almost no talk of a new deal for Wilshere. The England midfielder also has 12 months to run on his deal, but Arsenal are seemingly in no great hurry. Back in November of last year, Arsene Wenger suggested Arsenal would begin discussions with Wilshere at the turn of the year. It's safe to say that something subsequently changed.

The fact is that Wilshere simply didn't do enough during his time with Bournemouth to suggest he is ready to come back and take up a first-team spot with Arsenal. When Wilshere demanded a loan move on the eve of the transfer window, he took a massive gamble. The onus was on him to prove that he could stay fit and once again deliver the kind of performances that once made him the most exciting young talent in Britain.

For the most part, he accomplished the first part of that. Thanks to a finely attuned fitness programme, he was able to make 29 Premier League appearances before his campaign was cut short by a fractured leg. On that front, the move was a success.

However, worrying for Wilshere, his fitness never really translated into anything like sufficient form to cause Arsenal to miss him. He didn't look like a big fish in a small pond -- he looked, with all due respect, like a Bournemouth player. His stats didn't make for great reading either, with his 29 league appearances yielding no goals and just two assists. Despite playing predominantly as an advanced No.10, Wilshere struggled to find a cutting edge.

It's difficult to see an obvious place for him in the Arsenal XI. His brittle body would surely struggle with the physical demands of a place in holding midfield -- and in Granit Xhaka the Gunners arguably have a more adept deep-lying playmaker. However, Wilshere's time at Dean Court was hardly a convincing audition for a more attacking spot in the side.

The best Wilshere could hope for is a role as a squad player, making the occasional appearance in Arsenal's reluctant Europa League campaign. That's not likely to be enough to satisfy a player who will turn 26 next season -- and nor is it enough to justify the salary Arsenal would most likely have to pay to extend Wilshere's deal past this season.

It's difficult to see where he might end up. Bournemouth neglected to pursue the opportunity to sign him permanently, and many clubs will be priced out by his wage demands. A year ago, stories of interest from Pep Guardiola and Manchester City seemed plausible -- less so now. The most likely scenario is that he ends up with an upwardly mobile club looking for big names to excite fans and attract other stars: an Everton or a West Ham. The sad truth is that Wilshere came through the Arsenal academy, but no longer looks like an Arsenal player.