Sunday 4 September 2016 07:02, UK
Jack Wilshere made his debut for Bournemouth on Saturday as the Cherries were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan in a testimonial for club legend Warren Cummings.
Wilshere was handed his first start by Eddie Howe since joining the south coast club on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal on transfer deadline day.
However, he could not prevent the Cherries slipping to a hard-fought defeat as Suso and M'Baye Niang scored for the visitors either side of a debut goal from Lys Mousset.
Wilshere, who had been overlooked by Sam Allardyce for England duty this weekend, almost made the perfect start to life at the Vitality Stadium.
After beating his man on the right, he squared for Lewis Grabban, who sliced a shot wide when well set in the area in the opening minutes.
Wilshere came close to claiming his first goal for the Cherries minutes later but Milan 'keeper Gabriel Ferreira got down well to save the midfielder's low curling effort.
The testimonial, which was being played in honour of Cummings' nine-year service to Bournemouth, was short on chances and the two sides went in at the break goalless.
Wilshere was taken off at half-time as Howe elected to make a number of changes and Milan, now managed by Vincenzo Montella, continued to struggle as the hosts dominated the early stages of the second period.
Junior Stanislas came close to finding substitute Mousset with a dangerous ball across the face of goal before the lively Frenchman lashed a shot narrowly wide of the post just minutes later.
However, it was the Serie A giants who took the lead against the run of play when former Liverpool forward Suso curled a precise effort past Jordan Holmes in the Bournemouth goal.
The hosts responded immediately through Mousset, who arrowed a fine finish into the bottom right hand corner - his first goal since joining the Cherries on a £5.4m deal from Le Havre.
The momentum swung firmly back in Milan's favour a minute later when Niang calmly converted a penalty after he had been fouled by Holmes in the area.
Bournemouth brought Cummings on as a late substitute but the veteran defender was unable to find an equaliser as Wilshere was forced to taste defeat in his first match for the club. The Arsenal man will now be targeting his first victory for the Cherries when Bournemouth host West Brom in the Premier League next Saturday.
When asked about Wilshere's performance, Howe said: "Very good, very positive. He's trained well. He wanted to play today, he was very keen to get on the pitch, so that bodes well.
"Like any player he'll have to prove himself to get into the first team but with his undoubted talent and his work ethic I'm sure he'll get there."
The game also saw a return to action for defender Tyrone Mings, who has been unavailable since suffering torn anterior and medial ligaments in his knee six minutes into his Premier League debut.
Howe, who signed the player for £8m from Ipswich Town, believes the full-back can offer a different option in defence for Bournemouth.
"A mixture of emotions for the player, first and foremost," said Howe, on Mings' performance. "He would have been really keen to get through today and touch wood he's come through with no problems. I thought he was impressive in the game and certainly with his physical presence he adds a different dimension to our back four."
