Wilshere, taking a second to think about his
answer. “When you’ve played a good game
and the next week the boss wants to rest you
because you’ve played too much football...”
He wrinkles his nose slightly. “To be honest,
I’ve not had much of that.”
You can understand why Wilshere may feel
uncomfortable recalling his traumatic injury
history – or simply not want to dwell on those
days – but FFT gets the impression he doesn’t
want to use that as an excuse for where his
career might have gone, either. After years of
people bemoaning his countless hours on the
treatment table and what might have been,
the man himself isn’t keen on adding his own
voice to the chorus. Frankly, he seems fed up
with that narrative.
That’s hardly a surprise, though: in the
five seasons that followed his breakout
campaign, Wilshere made fewer than
100 appearances for Arsenal. Instead,it was Ramsey who recovered from serious
injury to become a fulcrum in his absence,
thriving with Mesut Özil and Santi Cazorla.
Still, he often glittered when he was on the
pitch. It’s easy to forget that Wilshere proved
a key figure for England under Roy Hodgson,
scooping six man of the match awards in
seven games during Euro 2016 qualification,
and won back-to-back FA Cups with Arsenal
in 2014 and 2015.
“The final against Hull [in 2014] was awful
to be involved in,” remembers Wilshere of
the match that gave Wenger’s side their first
trophy for nine years. “We went 2-0 down in
the opening 10 minutes, then Santi scored
an unbelievable free-kick. At the time, no one
appreciated it because we just had to get the
ball and bring it back to halfway.”
Incredibly, Wilshere didn’t even appreciate
his wonder strike against Norwich that term,
when he finished off a series of deft flicks to
score one of the most beautiful team goals
in Premier League history. He smiles now at
the mention of that pinball move which was
the BBC’s Goal of the Season.
“We did that sort of thing a lot at training,”
he smiles. “It just happened in the moment,FourFourTwo December 2021 57WILSHERE WAS TOUTED FOR THE
ARSEnAL CAPTAInCY AT JUST 19
a Birmingham side that would later wind up
relegated. It left a scar for those who’d grown
used to seeing the Gunners winning.
“It honestly just made me more hungry to
deliver success,” says Wilshere. “When I was
in the academy, Arsenal won trophies all the
time – I remember watching ‘the Invincibles’
when I was 12 and there was a buzz around
the place. I used to dream of playing for the
club when I was a kid, but we went nearly 10
years without a trophy.”
PINBALL WIZARD
And just like that, breakout preceded burnout.
England manager Fabio Capello had called
Wilshere “the future”, suggesting he would
even build his Three Lions side around him –
and that was before the teenager’s virtuoso
performance against Barça. When Fabregas
returned to Catalonia in August, meanwhile,
his young protégé was touted for the Arsenal
captaincy. He wasn’t even 20 yet.
Fate had other ideas, though. Wilshere had
made 49 Arsenal appearances in 2010-11
before a stress fracture suffered in pre-season
ruled him out of the next campaign entirely.
“Yeah it’s difficult, but every footballer gets
injured or has hard times,” shrugs Wilshere,
shuffling in his seat. “It’s natural that you’re
going to have some tough moments.”
That’s putting it mildly. This first ankle injury
ruled Wilshere out for more than a year; from
there, the midfielder’s development became
increasingly staccato. These days, does he
perhaps downplay quite how seriously those
absences affected him?
“Oh, the worst place to be for a footballer
is stuck in the physio room when everyone’s
going out to train,” he says. “It’s awful when
everyone’s going out to play and you’re only
going to watch the game.”
And amid rumours that he was forcing
himself back too soon, was he frustrated
that coaches would wrap him up in cotton
wool every time he approached fitness
again? “Sometimes, yeah,” confesses
JACK
WILSHEREClockwise from top
Fan favourite; Capello
called Wilshere “the
future”; on target at
home to Chelsea; his
breakthrough Barça
display; “I looked up
to Cesc”; debuting
at Blackburn in 2008