No progress in Wilshere contract talks - Wenger

Arsene Wenger reiterated his hope that Jack Wilshere will sign a new contract with Arsenal as the midfielder nears the end of his current deal.

Wilshere's contract is due to expire at the end of the season, with Everton reportedly interesting in luring the midfielder to Merseyside.

The Gunners came close to losing Alexis Sanchez on a free before agreeing to offload the attacker to Manchester United in a swap for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January.

Mesut Ozil last month inked an extension through to 2021, but 26-year-old Wilshere - who has re-established himself with the Gunners after a loan spell at Bournemouth last season - could still be headed for the exit having failed to commit his future.

"On my side nothing has changed. Jack will be free at the end of the season," Wenger told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have made a proposal to him. We want him to stay and be linked with the club with the future. My desire and hope is he will [re-sign]."

Arsenal host AC Milan on Thursday with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash.

Aaron Ramsey, who scored the second in last week's meeting, says maintaining those results will be key to winning back the supporters that were absent from a sparse Emirates Stadium in the weekend win over Watford.

"Hopefully there weren't be so many empty seats. Hopefully our performances on the pitch will encourage everyone to come back," the Wales international said.

"We needed the result in Milan, it was a tough run for us. Sometimes these things just happen. Hopefully we can build on it and go from strength to strength."

Alexandre Lacazette will miss the match following knee surgery, but is expected return to action following the international break.