An Arsenal great grudgingly left the Gunners after a talk with the manager
Jack Wilshere left Arsenal at the end of the 2017/18 season(Image: Getty Images)
Jack Wilshere’s allegiances will be clear when two of his former clubs go toe-to-toe in a huge clash this afternoon.
The former midfielder played for both Arsenal and West Ham during his career. But his history and success with the north Londoners will mean he is likely to cheer them on in their decisive Premier League fixture at the London Stadium.
While the Hammers are on the bring of relegation and also in need of a victory, Wilshere’s former team-mate Mikel Arteta will be hoping to seal a win which would take Arsenal to within two games of winning the title – a feat Wilshere never managed himself. That outcome would mean a great deal to the 34-year-old, who had to leave the Gunners against his will after being told by then-manager Unai Emery in 2018 that he wouldn’t make the starting line-up.
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Despite his cult hero status at the Emirates Stadium, Wilshere’s career trajectory is one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ in the club’s recent history. The midfielder joined Arsenal’s academy aged nine and rose through the ranks to become a first team star.
Around the time of his breakthrough season in 2010/11, Wilshere was seen as arguably England’s brightest talent, famously delivering a masterclass midfield display against Xavi and Iniesta of Barcelona during the 2-1 Champions League win at home.
He went on to lift two FA Cup trophies under Arsene Wenger but the remainder of his Arsenal career was sadly hampered by ankle injuries, first sustained in a pre-season friendly against the New York Red Bulls in the summer of 2011.
His last season at Arsenal, the 2017/18 campaign, saw the twinkle-toed midfielder enjoy something of a resurgence, giving him hope that he still had a future at this boyhood club. Yet, the arrival of Unai Emery in place of long-time manager Wenger immediately dashed those hopes and Wilshere reluctantly left as a free agent.
Unai Emery’s answer did not fill Wilshere with confidence(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking about how his sudden departure came about two years earlier, Wilshere said in 2020: “I felt like it went on forever because the discussions probably started in February and then we got to a point where I was going to sign a contract. I wanted to stay at the club, I love the club, I knew everyone at the club, I felt like it was my family and then Arsene left so that dragged on.
“They didn’t announce Emery for a while and the club was going in a different direction. I had conversations with my dad, my family, my wife, my agent around that time about waiting to see who came in [as manager]. To see if he liked me because of the way the contract was set up.
“It seemed like it went on for it forever and then as soon as Emery said to me, ‘Look, you’re not in my starting XI’, I was like, ‘Okay, right, I need to leave’. It was very difficult as I said, it felt like Arsenal was my family.”
He added: “I was part of Arsenal, it’s a massive club and I was a big part of it, it was difficult. It was a sad time to leave and even now I look back and think, ‘Yeah, that was a tough time’.”
Wilshere’s injuries ended his career at Arsenal prematurely(Image: Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Wilshere joined West Ham on a free transfer that summer. He spent two seasons with the Irons, making just 19 appearances in all competitions due to persistent injuries, before his contract was terminated by mutual agreement in October 2020 with one year remaining.
Short spells at Bournemouth and Danish side AGF followed, with Wilshere finally deciding to hang up his boots in July 2022 at the age of 30. He later returned to Arsenal, however, as Under-18s head coach, helping to develop the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.
He is currently in charge of League One side Luton Town, who finished seventh this season. The Gunners icon took charge of the Hatters in October 2025 and clinched his first ever trophy as a manager in April with a 3-1 victory over Stockport County in the Vertu Trophy Final.
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