Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has opened up about the struggles he’s gone through in the last few years.
Once upon a time, Wilshere was one of the most talked-about players in English football – and even across Europe as a whole. From his work in the middle of the park to the adoration shown to him by the Gunners faithful, it felt like the only way was up for this blossoming youngster.
Alas, between injuries, inconsistent form and some bad luck, Wilshere has been left without a club since departing Bournemouth earlier this year.
During an in-depth interview with The Athletic, Jack spoke candidly about his journey up to this point, where he’s currently at and what his kids think about his position as a free agent.
“My kids are at an age where they understand. Especially Archie, who’s nine. He’s actually having conversations with me, saying, ‘What about the MLS?’ or ‘Why aren’t you playing in La Liga?’
“He loves football. He knows everything about football. And it is difficult to explain to him. He’ll say to me, ‘How come no club wants you?’ I don’t know. But how do I explain that to him?
“They’ve got friends at school and you know what kids can be like, they can be quite brutal. ‘Why is your dad not working? Is he not good enough? Is he not good at football?’ Yeah, that’s tough.
“I’ve got two younger kids [Siena and Jack Jnr] who have never really seen me play football. When I go to training in the morning on my own and I kiss them and say, ‘I’m going training’, they don’t actually know what I do. They’re probably thinking, ‘Where’s he going? What is his job?’
“The older two remember the Arsenal days, they remember watching me play for England. In a way, it’s quite nice to have that — they can see it on YouTube and when I go out, people recognise me. The most difficult part is trying to explain when they ask, ‘Well, why don’t you just sign for a club in England?’ I’m like, ‘Well, no one wants me’, and they can’t really get their head around it.”
Wilshere went on to say he contemplated retirement before suggesting a spell abroad could potentially be on the horizon.
Featured image credit: Getty
