Player Close-Up: Jack Wilshere

Full name: Jack Andrew G. Wilshere 
D.O.B: 1st January 1992 (age 19) 
Place of Birth: Stevenage,England
Club: Arsenal F.C. 
Position: Central midfielder
Height: 5ft 7 inch 
Blood Type: Arsenal 


Jack Wilshere is perhaps THE brightest talent to have emerged from the Arsenal Academy since a certain Cesc Fabregas.Jack was born in Stevenage,England and grew up in Hitchin.


Jack is an Arsenal man through and through.He joined the Arsenal Academy at the age of nine and has never looked back.He rose through the ranks at the academy and was made captain of the the U-16s team and also made appearances for the U-18s after taking part in the Champions Youth Games at the age of 15.

Future main man for Arsenal and England

In February 2008,at the age of 16,he made his first appearance for Neil Banfield's reserve team.He started against Reading and scored the only goal of the match.By the end of that season,he had notched up 2 goals and 2 assists in three appearances for the reserve side.


His performances for the reserve side helped him gain a place in the first team at the start of the 08-09 season.He started to make mainstream news during the pre-season friendlies.His first appearance for the senior team was as a second half substitute against Lower League opposition Barnet,setting up a goal for Jay Simpson.he made his PL debut against Blackburn in September 2008.At the age of 16 years and 256 days,he broke Fabregas's record of Arsenal's youngest league debut-ante.He scored his first professional goal against Sheffield Utd in a 6-0 rout in the League Cup.But after that he did not play a heavy part in that disastrous campaign which saw Arsenal finish 4th in the league.


The 09-10 season was a very important season for Jack for many reasons.He signed his professional contract tying him for a pretty long time in January 2009.He played phenomenally well in the Emirates Cup with 2 MOM performances.He still failed to make his way into the first team,mainly because Diaby had a pretty good season.So Arsene Wenger decided to not let him waste his talent and sent him out on-loan to Bolton in the winter transfer window.He went on to make 14 appearances for Bolton and was soo impressive that they even tried to sign him on for another season.But Wenger had other ideas for this mistral.


10-11 has been the breakthrough season for this English Gunner.He started in the opening high profile match against Liverpool and has never had to look back.He has cemented his place in the Arsenal starting line-up adn started in almost every one of Arsenal's league games this season(missed out on 3 due to suspension).Eventhough he doesn't look the part, Jack is a very physical player with great creativity and vision.His passing is of the highest standards and eventhough he has been a bit shy in front of the goal in the 
beginning of the season he has been taking a lot more shots of late.


One of the high points of his season would have been the Champion's league match(1st leg) against Barcelona,where he went up against what was touted as "the world's best" midfield pair of Xavi and Iniesta and stood his ground and caused them discomfort.He played a very influential 2nd half and completed 90% of his passes in the final third and nearly scored in the famous 2-1 win.

Xavi who?

Jack made his full England debut against Denmark in February 2011 and has since made a total of 3 appearances for the Three Lions.When asked whether the Arsenal midfielder is now set to be a regular first-team player for the national side, Capello replied: “Yes, yes, because he is good, because he plays without fear, and with confidence.Also for someone so young, he is a leader. It is incredible. I never saw someone so young be a leader on the pitch. It is incredible.Wilshere, after the game against Barcelona, he has arrived. He has arrived. You can understand the value of that sort of performance. As a young player, I think he is at the top, not only in England but Europe and the world." 

Jack has grown to be a fan favorite and he often interacts with the fans through his Twitter account  and his rivalry with Van Persie for the follower race has been endearing.He recently came in the news for shouting at a cabbie for wearing a Spuds hat.It only goes to show how much he loves the club and we as fans LOVE YOU.


This is just the beginning for young Jack.He has already being touted as a future England captain.He just needs to keep his head down and get on with his work and he will be a Legend for Club and Country.


Thats all for the day folks,I will leave you with an interview with Wenger about the latest developments at the club during the interlull.You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook.Have a good day.


THIS IS GOOONEEERBUUURGH!!!