Gooners were only treated to flickers of the
prodigy initially. Cup run-outs were regular as
Wilshere flitted between first team and junior
levels – he won the FA Youth Cup under Steve
Bould in 2009 alongside Luke Ayling, Francis
Coquelin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, netting
goals in the semi-final and final. He’d burst
into flame two seasons later with consistent
minutes... and with them, that masterclass
against Barcelona. The hype was high – but
Wilshere insists he never thought much of it.
“I didn’t feel pressure, so much... I didn’t
feel like I’d made it,” he reveals. “It was good
being around big stars who’d played for their
country for years, but I couldn’t stop – I had
to keep pressuring them to fight my way into
the team. I had an opportunity to show the
manager what I could do.”
After all, that’s what his captain had done.
Fabregas took the armband at 21 after rising
through the same ranks as Wilshere – and
the pair would end up playing in the same
midfield in 2010-11, as Wenger remodelled
his team with a fluid 4-3-3 system. Still, there
was a burden on him, Fabregas and others to
ensure that Arsenal’s trophy drought didn’t
extend to a sixth year.
“Cesc was a guy I looked up to back then,”
says Wilshere. “He started playing at a young
age – he was 16. He was only five years older
than me, heavily involved in the team, and he
didn’t feel far away from us. Aaron Ramsey
came to the club when I was 16, too – it was
my first year in the first team and we became
close. We went through similar experiences
with injuries, coming back, and I still speak to
him now – he’s doing pretty well in Italy and
for Wales, and he’s a friend.”
Challenges for silverware fell flat, however.
Arsenal slumped to fourth that season and
spectacularly surrendered the League Cup tothe lead through David Villa’s ice-cool finish,
before that crunching tackle on Iniesta gave
fans something to cheer. What followed in
Arsenal’s resuscitation was one of the most
iconic performances the Emirates Stadium
has ever witnessed.
Wilshere grew in stature with every touch,
calling for the ball to carve open the Catalans.
He was one move ahead every time Barça
shifted a chess piece, slipping passes through
his opponents’ defence or ghosting beyond
half a dozen players just for fun. World-class
footballers couldn’t get close enough to tug
his shirt. It was a breathtaking display – the
Gunners rallied to win 2-1. Pep Guardiola was
seen passing on words of praise at full-time.
“They expected to win and weren’t happy
when we came back,” smiles the man of the
match, knowing exactly how good he was.
“They were used to winning week in, week
out, had gone 1-0 up and were dominating
for the first 25 minutes.”
Sucker-punching this stellar Barcelona side
never happened, but a star fell to Earth that
night as north London swayed. It wasn’t only
the capital that felt like it had been plugged
into the mains, either: all of Europe knew Jack
Wilshere’s name now. English football had
a new prince; one who would surely define
a national narrative – he just had to live up to
that obvious promise.
LET’S TALK ABOUT CESC, BABY
A 2008 Nike advert directed by Guy Ritchie
appeared to predict Wilshere’s rise. In the
ad, we take the view of an unknown Sunday
League player who scores a sweet free-kick
and notices Arsene Wenger watching on the
touchline. Before he knows it, he’s flung into
the heat of a Premier League battle at Old
Trafford alongside Cesc Fabregas.
The shake and pace of the camera work
could have been based on Wilshere’s low
centre of gravity and energetic style. In real
life, Wenger – who had personally watched
this Hitchin schoolboy play in the academy
- gave his new pet project licence to roam.
It had the feel of a mad scientist letting his
creation wreak havoc across the lab, curious
of the carnage he could cause. It was also
entertaining; Ritchie’s ad made the point that
the line between park and stadium is much
thinner than you think. Wilshere’s ascension
drilled it home.
“I was 16 when I had my first opportunity,”
remembers the midfielder, still only 29, who
made his Arsenal debut in 2008. “Obviously
I’d been surrounded by people my age who
weren’t getting a chance, so I realised I was
doing something right. But I didn’t really think
about how good I was, I wanted to improve.
I was playing in the League Cup and wanted
Premier League minutes. I wanted to push.”
Wenger happily obliged. “Arsene put me in
the first-team dressing room at that age to
give me the experience of what it was like to
be around professionals, internationals, top
players; to see how they do things every day.
He always showed faith in me. Whether I had
a bad performance or a bad injury, he’d give
me all the time I needed – he’d stick by me.”
56 December 2021 FourFourTwo
JACK
WILSHERE