The England ace committed his long-term future to the club in midweek along with four other young Gunners.
And now the midfielder wants Walcott to end his contract stand-off with the club and keep the Gunners’ own version of teen idols One Direction together for several more years.
Wilshere, who will be 21 on New Year’s Day, said: “Everybody at the club wants Theo to re-sign. I’m always winding him up, saying ‘C’mon Theo, sign’.
“But that is something he has got to sort out. It is up to him and the club to reach an agreement and I hope they do.
“Theo’s been great for us and he knows what he means to us and the fans. Five of us British boys have just signed so hopefully he can be the sixth and cap it off.” Wilshere reckons the fact he along with Kieran Gibbs, 23, Aaron Ramsey, 22 on Boxing Day, Carl Jenkinson, 20, and teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all penned new deals will spur Walcott to re-signing. He added: “I think Theo looked at that.
“We’re all great friends, the British boys. We all go out together, have meals together and we all sit together when we’re on the road.
“It was nice to sign a new contract. It’s a great club. It’s like home, my friends and family are down the road. I’ve shown commitment to the club and they’ve shown commitment to me. We have a good thing going on.”
Apart from wanting more than the £75,000-a-week deal that is on offer, Walcott is looking for assurances from Arsene Wenger that he will be allowed to develop into a centre-forward. The Gunners boss once again deployed Walcott in the forward role he craves at Wigan on Saturday.
But unlike his display in the 5-2 thrashing of Reading, the England star did little to suggest his future is there. Often isolated from the rest of his team — and particularly fellow striker Lukas Podolski — Walcott lacked the physical presence to cause Wigan’s centre-backs too many problems. Significantly, it was when he darted into the area from his usual wider position that he forced the vital 59th-minute foul in the box by Jean Beausejour.
Mikel Arteta calmly slotted home the spot-kick to make it three wins in a row for Wenger’s side and boost their Champions League qualification hopes.
Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain were also denied by fine saves from Ali Al-Habsi but Arsenal will know they escaped with a lucky win.
Arouna Kone missed a first-half sitter and Wojciech Szczesny protected the lead with a couple of fine saves from Kone and Maynor Figueroa.
And Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was fuming that Gibbs’s late hand-ball from sub Jordi Gomez’s drive did not bring a penalty.
So a classic 1-0 to the Arsenal in lashing conditions in the North-West that have seen Wenger’s men come a cropper in the past. Wilshere admitted: “It wasn’t our prettiest performance but we got the result.
“We showed great character and we know we can come to places like this and dig out results.”
Wilshere also erased any lingering doubts about his readiness for a crunching challenge having only returned to action at the end of October after missing 14 months with ankle problems.
One no-holds-barred tackle on Shaun Maloney wrongly earned him a yellow card from ref Jon Moss and he was on the receiving end of several meaty exchanges.
Wilshere added: “It is a good feeling when you do a good tackle and you get rewarded for it. I had that feeling — but then the ref booked me!”
Wenger said: “It looked a perfect tackle. I think the ref was a bit provoked by the crowd reaction. I like Wilshere — after 25 minutes you look at him and he is dirty from top to bottom.”
There is no doubting Wilshere’s commitment to the Arsenal — now he just wants Walcott to sing from the same songsheet.
