Jack Wilshere has claimed that he didn’t want to go Arsenal initially, before changing him mind when pushed to make a decision.
The 28 year-old is currently plying his trade with West Ham United, having struggled to nail down a regular first-team role at the Emirates thanks to a number of exhausting injury problems.
Wilshere was one of the brightest players to come out of our academy, only for a number of injuries to plague his career, and he finally made the decision to quit the club in 2018.
The midfielder’s move did not help him to avoid injury however, and he is still struggling to steer clear of the physio room, but with no football being played because of Coronavirus anyway, he has been looking back on his early days, and revealed the day that he was first picked out for a move to Arsenal.
“I was playing for Luton and we were playing against Barnet and the ref was actually scouting for Arsenal,” he told The Lockdown Tactics Podcast.
“He came up to my Dad afterwards and told him he wanted me to come along. He didn’t even say it was a trial he just wanted to sign me for Arsenal. It was strange because there must have been some sort of transfer window where that sort of thing could happen but I’ll be honest with you I didn’t want to go.
“I was 15 minutes from Luton to get to London every day. My Dad with his job he would have to finish work early. My Dad didn’t put any pressure on me but at the time I didn’t know what to do.
“I remember it so clearly, I was nine and I was in the park with my mate. My Dad pulled up in his little red van and said this is your last day you’ve got to make a decision. I said to my mate, I’m going to Arsenal and the rest is history. Fair play to my Dad because we didn’t have much as a kid, he was a plumber.
“He used to finish work at 4, then we’d be out the door and it would take an hour to get to London from where I lived and that was like three times a week from when I was 10.”
I would be shocked if there was a single Arsenal fan who didn’t think about the ‘what if’ when it comes to young Jack, who was always expected to become club captain and bring glory to Arsenal.
Wilshere will always have a place in the hearts of fans who will remember his amazing display against Barcelona as a young star.
Do you think Wilshere ever questions if it was the right decision to join Arsenal? Will he ever go a full season without injury?
Patrick
