Brawl: Jack Wilshere was arrested after this fight,
captured by security cameras at the Daily Mail's offices in
Kensington
The fracas took place on the steps of the Daily Mail's offices
in Kensington, West London, shortly after 2.30am
yesterday.
Arsenal and England starlet Jack Wilshere has been
arrested for assault after a woman's arm was broken and a man
suffered facial injuries in a fight outside a
nightclub.
Wilshere, who made his international debut this month, was
leaving the nightclub with three friends when a brawl broke
out.
The 18-year-old, who is teetotal, is believed to have acted as a
peacemaker when an alcohol-fuelled row erupted between members of
his party and another group made up of four men and a woman.
The Mail's CCTV cameras captured the incident and appear to show
punches being thrown among the warring groups.
It is thought the dispute flared over the woman in the group,
although it is understood she broke her arm from a fall rather than
in an attack. It is thought that her boyfriend was hit in the face
in the fight.
A diamond bracelet belonging to the woman which broke off her
wrist was later handed to police.
Midfielder: Wilshere made his international debut
this month
Security guards at the nearby Kensington Roof Gardens
nightclub rushed across the road to try to separate the two groups
of men fighting.
One doorman said: 'It was chaos. They were scrapping at each
other viciously. There was a girl screaming on the floor and more
girls came rushing out of the club. We tried to separate them but
they kept trying to hit each other.
'There was a lot of noise and one boy had blood coming from his
mouth and nose. The police came after about five minutes and
arrested a group of the lads.
'It all seemed a bit stupid as we rarely have trouble here as
it's a nice part of town. Shocking really.'
Wilshere and his friends had been partying in the fashionable
Amika nightclub and were on their way home when they clashed with
the other group.
It is thought that the player tried to break up the fight. He
and his friends then got in a taxi but were stopped by police who
had been called to the incident.
Wilshere and three other men, one aged 18 and two aged 21, were
all arrested for assault. It is not clear if the other men arrested
were all his friends or if some were members of the other
group.
A source said: 'Jack was walking down the street with some
friends. There were a couple on the kerb-side. I don't know what
was said or done but there was an altercation with a friend of
Jack's which Jack tried to break up.
'I think during it the girl fell over and broke her arm. Jack's
friends and those from the other party all confirmed to police that
he was acting as a peacemaker.'
Wilshere's spokesman said: 'The police have made it very clear
that he is an important witness to the incident and played the role
of peacemaker and is unlikely to face any charges as a result.'
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said those arrested had been
bailed until mid-October.
Wilshere, whose father Andrew is a plumber, lives close to his
family in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where he grew up. He was out
with friends from Hertfordshire on Saturday after Arsenal's 2-1
victory over Blackburn earlier in the day.
He has been tipped as England's next big hope having been loaned
by Arsenal to Bolton last season to gain Premiership
experience.