Apart from that harsh and ridiculous fine from the FA for using a mild swear word when celebrating Arsenal winning the FA cup for the second year in a row (seriously what was that all about?), the season ended very well for the Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere.
A stunning strike and some sterling work from the online Gooners gave Jack the goal of the season award from Match of the Day, and he backed that up with another couple of Man of the Match awards for England, with another couple of super strikes to open his international account to put a real gloss on his summer.
The 23-year old is currently enjoying a summer holiday with his new girlfriend and as reported by the Daily Mail, will soon have the chance to sign a new contract with a hefty pay rise to ward off any transfer bid from Man City.
But as the midfielder said recently, he wants to play and perhaps that that is why he has been talking to Arsenal Player about the importance of a good pre-season. He was reminiscing about the time when he broke into the Arsenal team after impressing Arsene Wenger in training, and then on the trip to Austria, and how one thing then led to another and before he knew it his dreams were coming true.
Wilshere said, “We used to go to Austria after training at London Colney for two weeks. There was always loads of young players training for the first couple of weeks and then if you made the Austria trip you thought, ‘Okay, this is where it really starts’. I was only 16 so I didn’t expect to make it.
“There were 18 year olds around me but I got on the trip. It went from there really. We played a couple of games, I scored a couple of goals, and then we came back and I was involved in the Emirates Cup. I was thinking, ‘Oh my God I’m going to play at the Emirates in front of 60,000’.
“I started the first game – I didn’t expect to play any part in it – and then after that it was club day and I remember the boss asking me which number I would like, 18 or 19. That’s when I knew I was going to be involved in the squad.
“The boss was clever because he put me in for some games, took me out, made me train some games and then put me out again. Then he put me in the [team in the] Carling Cup and I thought, ‘This is the real thing, we’re playing in front of 60,000 fans against proper teams, proper men, at just 16’.
“I owe that a lot to the boss and I’ve learnt so much since I was 16 that it’s scary. I’m only 23 now but it feels like I’ve been playing for years, and I’m still learning with every game I play.”
The up and coming pre-season could be just as important to Wilshere’s Arsenal career as that first one and if he plays well in it and then stays free of injury, I have a feeling that this next season will be the one where our young Gunner finally starts to realise his full potential. Do you think Wilshere has finally matured into a star?