The England midfielder was pictured in a newspaper puffing on a cigarette and speaking with a blonde female after Arsenal's 2-0 victory against Napoli.
Wilshere then took to Twitter appearing to defend his actions, posting a picture of former France and Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane smoking a cigarette before writing: 'But for the record... I don't smoke.'
In hot water: Jack Wilshere could face disciplinary action after he was caught smoking outside a London club
Wilshere
spoke exclusively to Sportsmail's Matt Lawton just six days ago in
which he admitted he was struggling with his fitness after spending a
total of 17 months on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
'As for me, I'm still coming back. I still need games to reach the fitness levels I've achieved in the past,' he said.
'In the summer I needed to change the pins in my ankle. The old ones were rubbing against the scar tissue and making it feel uncomfortable.
'The ankle's not worrying me now. It was bothering me last season. You'd get to a point you wouldn't want to cross because of the pain. But it's done now. It feels fine. I just need to get my full fitness back. My numbers aren't quite back to where they should be.'
'As for me, I'm still coming back. I still need games to reach the fitness levels I've achieved in the past,' he said.
'In the summer I needed to change the pins in my ankle. The old ones were rubbing against the scar tissue and making it feel uncomfortable.
'The ankle's not worrying me now. It was bothering me last season. You'd get to a point you wouldn't want to cross because of the pain. But it's done now. It feels fine. I just need to get my full fitness back. My numbers aren't quite back to where they should be.'
'I disagree completely with that behaviour,' said Wenger. 'I need to have a chat with him about that.
'You don't do what damages your health as a footballer. You damage your reputation when you do that in public.'
When pressed on whether he'd take disciplinary action against the midfielder, whose girlfriend Lauren Neal gave birth to their second child last week, Wenger added: 'I don't know what happened so I can't talk about any punishment.'
Wilshere played 27 minutes of Arsenal's Champions League Group F victory over Napoli after replacing Tomas Rosicky as a second-half substitute.
And it's been reported that he and his Arsenal team-mates were given permission to celebrate their impressive win at the Dstrkt Club in central London.
There have been many examples of top sportsmen who smoked, such as Bobby Charlton, Socrates, France legend Michel Platini, who is now UEFA president, while Holland legend Johan Cruyff even regularly lit up on the sidelines when he was coach at Barcelona.
Wenger, however, accepts in England the culture makes such a position untenable.
'Yes of course things are different, in England especially,' he said. 'You don't need to convince me because I must tell you, I travelled as a football player on coaches after games in France where you didn't see each other, there was so much smoke on the coach. Everybody smoked, but times have changed, and the healthy worry, the example, the role models from the football players request has changed as well.
'I must say as well, English society is very sensitive to smoking, much more than France, more than and southern (European) countries, so it is a bit more shocking here than it is somewhere else.'
Baby love: Wilshere tweeted a picture with his new-born daughter Delilah Grace last week
Piers backs Jack... and so does his bro
Celebrity Arsenal fan Piers Morgan appeared to defend Wilshere's actions, with a seemingly ironic post on Twitter.
Morgan wrote: 'Absolutely shocking that Jack Wilshere sneaked a crafty fag. Last thing any great midfield genius would ever do', before linking to the picture of former France captain Zinedine Zidane puffing on a cigarette.
The post was re-tweeted hundreds of times by Twitter users, including Wilshere's brother Tom.
Morgan wrote: 'Absolutely shocking that Jack Wilshere sneaked a crafty fag. Last thing any great midfield genius would ever do', before linking to the picture of former France captain Zinedine Zidane puffing on a cigarette.
The post was re-tweeted hundreds of times by Twitter users, including Wilshere's brother Tom.
Wenger has no doubts Wilshere remains an integral part of hopes for both club and country this season.
The Arsenal manager continued: 'He is a very important player here, you know. All my plans for the future at the club have always been built with Jack and around Jack. We had some setbacks with him - a lot - but he is a very important player in my squad.'
On the bench: The England international came on as a second-half substitute against Napoli
'Jack was with team-mates and friends. One dared Jack, who does not smoke, to momentarily hold the cigarette as part of a prank.'
Arsenal travel to West Brom on Sunday with a two-point lead at the summit of the Barclays Premier League. The Gunners have won 10 games in a row.
Bacary Sagna will miss Sunday's game at The Hawthorns after being ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury.
The 30-year-old Frenchman sustained the injury during Tuesday night's Champions League victory and, while it was originally feared the right-back would only miss two weeks, medical tests have confirmed a longer lay-off.
Blow: Bacary Sagna has been ruled out of action for three weeks with a hamstring problem
'It is always a blow because he is a very complete defender. He can defend well, he is good in the air, he can attack well as well, and he's a winner-type, so of course for us it is a handicap.
'But Jenkinson had a good start to the season as well and he is growing as a player. I am sure he will do very well.'
Puff: Wayne Rooney (above), Ashley Cole and Dimitar Berbatov (below) have been pictured smoking in the past
Italian job: Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is pictured holding a cigarette
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