but there were so many drills where we’d do
quick touches around the penalty box, putting
somebody in. Obviously, all the guys I played
with, that was their style of play. We were at
our best when we rotated with quick passes.
“At the time I didn’t grasp quite how good
it was, since we worked on that kind of thing
so often. It was only after when everyone was
talking about it that I knew it was special.”
“IT WAS HARD TO WALK AWAY”
From there, sadly, fortune wouldn’t smile on
Wilshere. That November, an ankle ligament
injury that was set to keep him out for three
months sidelined him for almost five. He did
at least retain his BBC Goal of the Season title
thanks to a rocket against West Brom on his
100th Premier League outing.
Then, on the eve of the 2015-16 campaign,
a broken fibula – initial diagnosis: a matter of
weeks – required surgery and restricted him
to just three Arsenal appearances all season.
The breaks were cruel, very literally. So, in
August, Wilshere signed for fellow top-flight
team Bournemouth on loan in the hope of
regaining momentum under manager Eddie
Howe – an empathising figure who’d retired
at 29 due to his own crippling injury problems.
The sea air seemed to do Wilshere good.
He started regularly, hoping to play himself
back into influence at Arsenal, and enjoyed
Bournemouth’s close-knit atmosphere. But
the mood was sterner when he returned to
London Colney, with the Gunners no longer
a Champions League club after finishing fifth
and Wilshere a year away from his contract
expiring. The academy graduate was told he
was free to go.
“Even when Arsene told me I could leave,
I always knew I had his trust,” says Wilshere
of that summer in 2017. “In my head, that’s
when I realised I might not be with Arsenal
forever. So I got fit, fought my way into the
team and was offered a deal. In my younger
days, I’d never even thought about leaving.”
Wilshere was an intermittent bright spark
in Arsenal’s faltering season, Wenger’s last
as their manager. And yet, when the No.10
was eventually offered what he’d worked so
hard for, he turned it down.
“It was the toughest decision of my career,”
he admits. “When Arsene left, the club didn’t
announce the manager and it dragged on.
At the start of the year, I thought I was going
to see my contract out and leave, so it was
hard to walk away.”
New gaffer Unai Emery told Wilshere he’d
honour the new deal given to him by Wenger- but that he didn’t see a future for him at the
Emirates. Wilshere said thanks but no thanks.
“When a new manager comes in and says,
‘You’re not in my plans’, that’s the right time
to leave,” he says.
Since then, lightning has struck twice more.
A fresh start under Manuel Pellegrini at West
Ham ended sooner than expected after the
Chilean was replaced, with Wilshere finding
himself a free agent again during lockdown.
In January, a short-term deal took him back
to the south coast and Bournemouth, where
he featured semi-regularly en route to their
play-off defeat against Brentford.
“If you’d told me as a kid that I’d play one
game for West Ham – the club I supported
growing up – I would have taken it, so I can’t
regret going,” says Wilshere, looking to clarify
comments he made this year that he should
never have left the Gunners. “But sometimes
when you’ve been somewhere for so long, it’s
difficult to adapt to something else. I think
that’s why I struggled a bit at West Ham. Of
course, Pellegrini left and David Moyes came
in, and he had a different style. Moyesy was
great with me, though, and honest. I enjoyed
his training and you can see what a good job
he’s doing. I wish them all the best in Europe.”
Now, he’s on his own again. Wilshere has
been training alone since becoming a free
agent last summer, and finding a new club
has been particularly hard in post-pandemic
Britain. That lonely tunnel before the Barça
game was 10 years ago.
But where Wilshere would have spent those
future years of development in midfield, he
was instead stunted by pain; each time, his
body getting a little weaker and a little older.
He’s been injury-free for some time now,
however, and began training with Arsenal in
October – merely to keep his fitness up, do his
coaching badges and wait for an opportunity.
In September, a move to Serie B side Como
was blocked because of his non-EU passport.
“I think my next club needs to be the right
fit for me in terms of style of play – but also
style of the league,” he explains. “Somewhere
that I’m going to be able to enjoy my football
again. I had a good time last season back at
Bournemouth, but being a free agent... the
last six months have been difficult. It’s been
a while since I’ve enjoyed football.”
Once upon a time, Wilshere was no ordinary
wonderkid. He lit up arenas by beating the
best as a one-man whirlwind. At his peak, he
could tie opponents in knots trying to chase
him. He had the passion and hunger to evoke
roars from home fans; the grace and deftness
to make a coach swoon. “Spanish technique,
English heart,” as Wenger once said.
So where do you go when the world once
watched your every move as a teen, but you
feel rather more alone nearing 30? Wilshere
himself doesn’t know just yet – and you can
forgive him for taking his time to work it out.Jack was speaking on behalf of Utilita, who
have partnered with the EFL to power one of
Britain’s biggest junior football tournaments.
For more information, head to http://www.efl.comMORE On FOURFOURTWO.COM
- Quiz: Can you name all of Arsene Wenger’s
FA Cup-winning Arsenal XIs? - Kolo Toure: “Slide-tackling Wenger changed
my Arsenal career – it showed him how much
I wanted it!” (by Joe Brewin) - Barcelona’s Generation ’87: When Messi,
Fabregas and Pique killed the competition at
La Masia (by Andrew Murray)
58 December 2021 FourFourTwo
“MY nEXT CLUB HAS TO BE THE
RIGHT FIT – In TERMS OF STYLE
OF PLAY AnD STYLE OF LEAGUE”
JACK
WILSHEREAnti-clockwise
from top Jack
enjoyed spells at
his boyhood club
West Ham; and
Bournemouth;
he’s had to train
alone but is free
from injury and
eager for offers