There was a time when a Jack Wilshere transfer to Manchester City would have been inevitable. A painful, protracted formality that would serve to undermine Arsene Wenger, damage his and Arsenal's credibility and strengthen a supposed rival.
Not now. Wenger's refusal to countenance the possibility of Wilshere treading the well-worn path from north London to the Etihad Stadium was delivered with a certainty that underlines the fact that Arsenal are playing by different rules now.
