Quite how Jack Wilshere ended up here, sitting on a balcony that boasts a quite spectacular view of Poole Harbour, is something he says began with the announcement of an England squad.
He remembers the date. 'August 28, the Sunday.' And he vividly recalls scanning the names only to realise he was not among them. 'It was the final straw,' he says. 'It hurt not being in there.'
Wilshere had already given some thought to the idea of leaving Arsenal, already dared contemplate a move away from the club he joined as a nine-year-old and never imagined leaving.