Jack Wilshere: Future Arsenal manager?

There have been some ups and down, especially in the league, where Arsenal have struggled for consistency.

But on Tuesday, Wilshere will lead his side out in the Youth Cup final against West Ham at Emirates Stadium, hoping to end the Gunners’ 14-year wait to get their hands on the trophy.

Whatever happens, it’s been a remarkable achievement from Wilshere in his first season as coach, and Mertesacker couldn’t be happier with how things have materialised.

“He’s made a huge impact,” said the German. “To go on an FA Youth Cup run like he did, who could have done that? I think he has done amazing in his transition.

“Do we have tough conversations sometimes on the league position that we’re in? Yes, of course. But that’s something we kind of expected. We will have tough times together.

“But in terms of his first year in a head-coaching position, I think he has created a good energy. I’m really pleased.”

There were plenty of eyebrows raised when Wilshere was named as Arsenal’s new U18s head coach last summer.

The appointment came just a week after the former England international had announced his retirement as a player.

Wilshere’s decision to hang up his boots at the age of just 30 was so he could pursue a career in coaching. He’d fallen in love with the idea during the six months he’d spent back at Arsenal during the 2021-22 season, when he spent a lot of time working with the academy teams while training with Mikel Arteta’s senior squad.

But few expected him to walk straight into one of the top coaching roles at Arsenal so early on.

“Bringing Jack back meant we needed to support him,” Mertesacker admitted. “That meant not only me, or Luke Hobbs [head of academy coaching]. That meant Edu, Mikel, the assistant coaches. Everybody needed to help with that process.

“Head coach is a big job. It’s not just about working on the grass and being a role model and an inspiration. It’s about how you deal with staff, with all the emails, with how you delegate.”

Dealing with the administrative side of the role was something Wilshere did struggle with in the first few months following his appointment.

“The corporate world, all the emails, I was like ‘what’s going on here??’", he admitted during an interview earlier this month.

But it’s something he’s now adapted to, and that has allowed him to really focus on the side of the job he loves, working with his players on the training pitches at London Colney.

And he’s certainly inspired his current crop of youngsters when it comes to the Youth Cup this season.

Arsenal have been involved in thrilling clashes from the start of their run, winning 3-2 at Newcastle, coming from two goals down to win 4-2 at Oxford and scoring last-minute winners to see off Cambridge and Manchester City in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.

Victory against West Ham on Tuesday would see Wilshere win the trophy as a coach 14 years after he won it for the Gunners as a player in 2009.

And it would only add to the romantic suggestion that one day Wilshere could perhaps follow in the footsteps of Arsene Wenger and Arteta by taking charge of the first-team.

“Jack can definitely be the manager for us in the future because he knows a lot about football and has played under some great managers in the past,” said Wilshere's former Arsenal team-mate Emmanuel Frimpong, who was talking to GOAL via Lord Ping.

“I’m very happy for Jack. If you told me [when we were players] that he would be a coach or manager, I would never have believed you.  

“’It’s a great opportunity for him. Arsenal is like a family. Wherever you go, whenever you need help, they're always willing to help you. 

“He needs to take the opportunity to learn as much as he can from Mikel and the other coaches there.Hopefully he can become the manager for Arsenal in the future.”

For now that is a scenario that is obviously some way off.

Wilshere may have ambitious plans for the future, but for now his focus is very much on building on the progress he has made during his first year as a coach at Arsenal.

He spends as much time as he can watching how Arteta works with the senior squad. He has a strong relationship with the Spaniard and his staff, and takes every opportunity he can to learn from them.

Wilshere is a regular presence at first-team training sessions, watching from the sidelines in an attempt to absorb everything he can. 

And you can see when you watch his side play how aligned they are with the first team. There is a symmetry running through the club and that alignment comes from the close working relationships key figures share.

The success of the first team and the demands Arteta puts on his squad is something that Wilshere often points to when he is working with his players. And he will no doubt be doing that again ahead of Tuesday night’s huge encounter at the Emirates.

Wilshere will of course also be drawing on his own experiences when he played a starring role in the 2009 Youth Cup run.

That is something that has already proven to be hugely beneficial in this journey to the final, as U18s captain Bradley Ibrahim explained during an interview with The Athletic last month.

“He’s been in our shoes, played in the Youth Cup and been exactly where we are right now,” Ibrahim said, while discussing the impact Wilshere has had on his side. “He’s able to give us information other people can’t, so it’s amazing having him around.

“The way he relays information when we’re not on the pitch, we all know our game plan. What we’re meant to do, where we’re meant to be.

“Him telling us to be calm just means relax and think about our basics. That’s something he speaks about a lot, the basics of football: running, when you have the ball, keep possession and your quality will show.”

Wilshere has come a long way since he sat in front of Arteta, Edu and Mertesacker last summer and laid out his vision for the future at Arsenal. As Mertesacker admitted, no-one quite knew what to expect when he walked into that room to pitch for the job.

It was a big call by Arsenal to turn to Wilshere to lead the U18s forward. They could have gone down the experienced route, but instead opted to give one of their own a chance to guide some of the club’s best young talent on their journey towards the first team.

Now, nearly a year on, it’s a decision that is looking more inspired by the day.

Just how far he can go remains to be seen. Could he be first-team manager one day? Who knows.

When it comes to Wilshere and Arsenal, you can never rule anything out.