Jack Wilshere is leaving his role as Arsenal Under-18 head coach to take up a first-team coaching position at Norwich City.
The 32-year-old will leave Arsenal on Wednesday and begin at his new club the following day where he will effectively replace Narcis Pelach, who departed in September to take the head coach role at fellow Championship club Stoke City.
Wilshere’s relationship with Norwich’s sporting director Ben Knapper, who previously worked as Arsenal’s loans manager until October 2023, has helped the process.
The opportunity to move into a first-team role at Norwich, where he will join Johannes Hoff Thorup’s backroom team, is considered a step that should advance Wilshere’s coaching career at a relatively young age.
Wilshere started his role with the Arsenal Under-18s in the summer of 2022 following his retirement from playing, aged 30. He led the side to the FA Youth Cup final in his first season in charge, where they were beaten by West Ham United.
He held talks with Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids about becoming their head coach in October 2023 but ultimately remained with Arsenal.
The former midfielder came through the academy at Arsenal and made 197 first-team appearances before joining West Ham and Bournemouth.
Wilshere is viewed positively within Arsenal, and Bradley Ibrahim, who captained Wilshere’s side to the FA Youth Cup final in 2023, highlighted the importance of being coached by someone who had shared their experiences during his playing career.
“He’s been in our shoes, played in the Youth Cup and been exactly where we are right now,” Ibrahim said. “He’s able to give us information other people can’t, so it’s amazing having him around.”
Norwich are seventh in the Championship after winning four of their opening 10 matches this season. Thorup, 35, joined as head coach on a three-year deal in the summer after Norwich lost to Leeds United in the play-off semi-finals last season and subsequently parted company with David Wagner.
Wilshere told The Athletic in 2023 that despite doing his initial coaching badges with academy manager Per Mertesacker in 2017, it was not until he returned to Arsenal to train at the end of his playing days in 2021 that he was inspired to coach.
When asked about Wilshere’s potential departure, first-team manager Mikel Arteta said on Monday: “That’s a collaboration that we had, it’s the same with Mehmet (Ali, Arsenal Under-21s coach).
“Every time that we had academy players and he (Wilshere) was involved he’s been great — in terms of supporting the first team, in terms of bringing ideas, in terms of collaborating in everything that we wanted. I know him, we played together and we have a really good relationship, so let’s see.”
(Top photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
