“He was open” – Former Arsenal star reveals coaching tips from Mikel Arteta
Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, now manager of Luton Town, has revealed he’s previously had some useful coaching advice from Mikel Arteta.
Wilshere’s playing career may have been cut short due to injuries, but he’s done well since stepping into management, and it seems he’s done his best to learn from Arteta.
The Spanish tactician has done tremendous work with the Gunners since taking the job back in 2019, when he was only a rookie himself, having previously only worked as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
Arteta’s success at Arsenal can perhaps inspire Wilshere, and the former England international has told BBC Sport that he is influenced by his old teammate.
Jack Wilshere on Mikel Arteta’s influence and advice
It seems Wilshere has found Arteta open to giving him tips in the past, which will surely only be useful for the 34-year-old as he continues his management career.
“I got to see Mikel and how he coached and the influence he was having,” said Wilshere. “I would ask him questions, why he’s doing certain things, and I started to fall in love with it and how he started to prepare training sessions.”
He added: “I was influenced by Mikel, but then I had to learn how to teach. I had to learn how to get that across, how to plan a session and how to get the outcomes that you wanted.
“I played under some good coaches and was quite good at understanding what a coach wants, but I never dived into ‘why is he asking me to do that?’ Mikel really made that clear and I was lucky enough to have a relationship where I could say, ‘well, why do you want that?’ And he was open enough to share it with me.”
Arsenal fans will no doubt be keeping an eye on how Wilshere gets on with Luton, as they’ll perhaps be hoping he can be an Arsenal manager of the future.
For now, the priority surely has to be keeping Arteta for as long as possible, but Wilshere and another former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas will surely be tempting candidates for the job if a vacancy comes up at any time in the next few years.
