Jack Wilshere has been a constant symbol of what is possible for young players at Arsenal since the club’s move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.
He was the first academy graduate to truly break into the first team after the club left Highbury and has since had his image branded on the stadium’s exterior artwork.
Of late, that inspiration has come more directly in his role as under-18s head coach, but following the news that Wilshere will join Norwich City as a first-team coach, his influence will no longer be felt in such a direct way.
The Athletic reported that Wilshere was in advanced talks with Norwich last Thursday, with the former Arsenal midfielder notifying his players on Friday. He is set to start work with the Carrow Road club this Thursday, though he started the week at Arsenal — he was present for the under-19s’ training session on Monday ahead of their fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Wilshere, 32, has been in his current role for just over two seasons, taking charge in July 2022. He quickly grew in popularity among his players, their parents and fellow coaches. His prominence as a player in Arsenal’s recent history made him a natural figurehead within the academy. Players wanted to play for him.
The former England international’s name carries weight in itself, but Arsenal and those inside the club’s academy will miss the more personable aspects of his character. He is calm and the players he works with respect his knowledge and experience.
His approach has also been evident in non-football settings, with Wilshere intent on shaking every hand in the room and making an effort to remember those he has spoken to. One parent of a player we spoke to described how early conversations with Wilshere were not about football at all, but instead focused on family life and making it clear everything the player needed would be catered for, creating a warm environment to go into.
In a footballing context, while he can shout like any coach does on the touchline to get a point across mid-game, he tends to be measured when relaying information to his players.
His own experiences are also known to draw instant respect from his players because he lived the dream many of them have now, making 197 appearances for Arsenal. First-team manager Mikel Arteta spoke during a pre-match press conference last week, saying: “He’s been great. Everyone knows about his career, about his character and he’s a really special personality. His attachments to the football club are unique. He has this aura and charisma and a way of connecting with people.
“He’s been an inspiration for the kids because of his history, what he did and how he did it.”
Wilshere’s announcement on Friday was met with shock by a number of players and families. Some close to the academy expressed consternation that Arsenal had not made a more concerted effort to keep Wilshere.
Academy manager Per Mertesacker respected Wilshere’s decision to leave and did not want to stand in his way, as there is great pride within the club at his development as a coach attracting attention from a club the size of Norwich. Although much of that development has come in the past two years, Mertesacker also convinced Wilshere to do his coaching badges when the pair were still Arsenal players in 2017.
There are those, however, who feel he could have been persuaded to stay in situ if a compelling offer had been made. Wilshere had previously expressed an interest in leading Arsenal’s Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League, for example, but the club gave the position to Max Porter, who had not yet had head coaching experience. Instead, Wilshere was utilised as an assistant head coach, in communication with other coaches during the game.
Sources close to the family of 14-year-old Max Dowman, one of the academy’s brightest prospects, suggest they are extremely disappointed by Wilshere’s departure.
In September, Dowman became the youngest player, aged 14 years, eight months and 19 days, to score in a UEFA Youth League game in the competition’s 11-year history. Wilshere also gave Dowman his Under-18 Premier League debut in September 2023, making him the youngest player in the history of the competition, at 13.
It is widely known in football circles that his schoolboy terms expire in 18 months and he has yet to commit to a scholarship. For their part, Arsenal feel they have provided Dowman the opportunities his talent deserves, enabling him to play up several age groups and allowing him to train with the first team.
Wilshere has become a highly important figure to Dowman — not only because of his capabilities as a coach, but also as he has shown he shares an understanding of everything Dowman is going through given Wilshere was also a high-profile academy player for club and country.
Dowman is only one of the academy players significantly influenced by Wilshere. When welcoming new players to the club, he ensured his attention was on the families and their needs rather than focusing on football. Having made the jump from Hale End (academy base) to London Colney (Arsenal’s first-team training centre) himself, he also knew how to make the transition easier for Arsenal’s youngsters while still putting the same demands on them that he placed on himself when breaking through in the late 2000s.
Arsenal have already benefited from Wilshere’s understanding and experience in recent years with Ethan Nwaneri.
In a roundtable discussion during his under-18 team’s run to the 2022-23 FA Youth Cup final, Wilshere said of managing all the noise around a then-16-year-old Nwaneri: “I’ve been through that and people don’t see it. It’s like an iceberg, where underneath you don’t see (how much is going on). At the moment, he’s in that phase where he’s struggling. But he’s been exceptional and as coaches we don’t get involved in and we don’t talk about that (his future). That’s nothing. Our job is to develop Ethan to help him when he goes with the first team… As coaches, we focus on trying to give him the best platform, trying to give him a clear head.”
These moments of understanding have been evident since Wilshere returned to train with Arsenal before he decided to retire in the 2020-21 season. That year, he helped coach various age groups, including Arsenal’s Under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy.
After a dramatic penalty shootout win over Ipswich Town, he could be seen in deep discussion with Charlie Patino as the pair made their way through the Portman Road tunnel to the Arsenal team coach. Similarly, just this month, he made sure to wait for Dowman so they could walk and talk from the Meadow Park changing rooms to where the players received their post-match food after a 1-0 UEFA Youth League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Even so, there are some who have not been too surprised by Wilshere’s decision. Despite showing amenable, softer skills with Arsenal’s youngsters, some did get the impression he would strive to coach in the senior game at some point. This time last year, for instance, he held talks with Colorado Rapids over their vacant head coach position.
Within Arsenal, he has also had some exposure to coaching alongside the first team. This has tended to be when a number of academy players have been called up during international breaks, but on what he has seen from Wilshere in those settings, Arteta said this week: “That’s a collaboration that we had. The same with Mehmet Ali (the under-21s head coach).
“He (Wilshere) has been great in everything. In terms of supporting the first team, in terms of bringing ideas, in terms of collaborating with anything that we wanted. I know him. We played together and we have a good relationship.”
On transferring the skill set of dealing with youth players to coaching senior ones and how Wilshere could cope with that, the Arsenal manager added: “Every player is different and every nationality and the education and culture each of them has is different.
“But Jack is very experienced because he’s played in the game for such a long time. So you have to have that skill as well to connect with your team-mates and with your coaches. They are all different, different ages, different backgrounds, different nationalities and I think that’s a big strength of him.”
With no vacancies in the first team coaching group, there were no obvious pathways for Wilshere to fulfil a senior role at Arsenal.
His next chapter being Norwich City is fitting in some ways. Not only because of the connection with former Arsenal loan manager and current Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper, but also because he scored one of his most memorable goals for Arsenal against Norwich 11 years ago last Saturday (October 19). Wilshere will also join former Arsenal goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts on the Norwich staff.
Norwich have been impressed by Wilshere’s people skills and also admire the way he has developed through the coaching system at Arsenal. He has already been to the club’s training ground and there is excitement that they have got this deal done, with Wilshere set to become the third in command — behind head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup and assistant Glen Riddersholm.
Wilshere’s departure is a blow to Arsenal’s academy. His influence and reputation provided a boost at a time when a number of promising young players, such as striker Chido Obi-Martin, have left the club. Arsenal have allocated a significant budget to bolstering their academy and strengthening their recruitment team, but the influx of talent is yet to begin in earnest. Tommy Setford, Brayden Clarke and Lucas Nygaard are examples of their recent investment in this regard, however.
Mertesacker must consider carefully how he replaces the 32-year-old — it will be difficult to find someone with the same capabilities as a coach, reputational value, and affinity for Arsenal and its guiding principles.
Arsenal’s philosophy is that no coach, or player, can take precedence within the academy. Some feel this may be a slightly outdated approach in an era in which only one or two players are likely to make the breakthrough to first-team football. The value of certain individuals — like an Obi-Martin, or perhaps even an attractive coach like Wilshere — is significant.
Just over two seasons of experience in charge of Arsenal’s Under-18s will stand Wilshere in good stead for what comes next. Arsenal may be losing an integral part of their identity with his departure, but for the shining example of what the club’s academy can produce, the chance to coach in a senior environment can only continue his growth within the game.
(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
