Wilshere retires at 30 to coach Arsenal kids
JACK WILSHERE has announced his retirement from football aged just 30 and is set to begin a coaching career by taking over Arsenal Under 18s. Former England star Wilshere left Danish side Aarhus this week and admitted: ‘It has been difficult to accept my career has been slipping away due to reasons outside of my control while feeling that I still had so much to give.’ Wilshere’s premature retirement was greeted by tributes from across the football world, including his former boss Arsene Wenger. He played 288 club games — 197 for Arsenal — and won 34 England caps, but injury denied him the chance to truly fulfil his great potential. Wilshere became Arsenal’s youngest league debutant in 2008 aged just 16 and was 19 when he produced his most famous performance — a manof-the-match display against Barcelona in 2011.
But successive injuries, often to his ankles, hampered his efforts to live up to the hype. He left Arsenal in 2018 and tried to recapture former glories at West Ham, Bournemouth and Aarhus. He has now conceded defeat but is set to put his experience to use and make an emotional return to north London — having worked with Arsenal’s youth sides last season while doing his coaching badges. Wilshere said: ‘It has been an unbelievable journey filled with incredible moments. I feel privileged to have experienced all that I did during my career. I have lived my dream. ‘Having played at the very highest level, I have always held such huge ambitions and if I am truthful, I did not envisage being in this position at times. I know that now is the right time and despite the difficult moments, I look back on my career with great pride at what I have achieved.’