Jack Wilshere gave a powerful speech to his Arsenal U18s squad after they thrashed Tottenham U18s for his first win in charge.
The 30-year-old, a cult hero at the Emirates, left Arsenal in 2018 after 17 years but returned in July to become head coach for the U18 side as he looks to one day lead the first team like fellow former player and current boss Mikel Arteta.
Wilshere was a fan favourite in north – helping the Gunners win back-to-back FA Cups – and picked up numerous individual accolades including being named PFA Young Player of the Year and Arsenal’s Player of the Season.
He was capped 34 times for England and also had spells at , Bournemouth and Danish club AGF before calling time on his career this summer.
Since taking charge of Arsenal U18s, he has endured a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, a 1-1 draw with Fulham and now a thumping 4-1 victory over north London rivals Tottenham.
Omari Benjamin, 16, scored a hat-trick in the match and Wilshere sent a passionate message to his players at full-time, which has since gone viral.
‘How does that feel? You deserve it,’ Wilshere told his players. ‘Every single one of you deserve it for your performances this season.
‘We haven’t got the results we want, that’s fine, but we keep building. The way you train, your attitude, remember what I said to you before the game?
‘Look into my eyes. I saw every single one of you look at me and look at each other, and that is a performance which tells me you are together.
‘You’ve all got passion, you’ve all got desire and you want to win. That’s the level boys.
‘There’s some things in the second half we can do better, and we will get better because we keep working every day in training and that is credit to you.
‘But the level of the energy that I asked for, the passion, pride, desire, that’s the standard.
‘We have to get that every week, not just because it’s Tottenham. Every single week and we’ll blow teams away. Alright? Okay?
‘After three, I want you to shout as loud as you can, so they know what it means to us. One, two three… Come on!’
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