Arsenal confirm Wilsher has begun training with the club as Arteta reveals why

Jack Wilshere opens up about his struggles

Just one month ago, Jack Wilshere sat down with David Ornstein of The Athletic to discuss his playing career. In a heartwrenching interview for Gunners fans, the former Arsenal and England man revealed that he felt the door had been closed to him in England due to his injury reputation, but he continued training with Italian side Como in pre-season.

Mikel Arteta, in turn, revealed that Wilshere was welcome to come back to Arsenal to train, saying “our doors are always open”.

And that is precisely what has transpired, with an official post on Arsenal’s social media saying:

“We’re helping Jack prepare and train for his next step, while he continues to do his coaching badges”

Mikel Arteta discusses Jack Wilshere’s return

Speaking about the return of his former teammate to London Colney, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed:

“I am very happy to have him back. We had a conversation with Jack and we understand the needs that he has, the period that he is going through and I think everyone at the club agreed that it was the right moment to help him.”

“We sat down with him, and we listened to what he wanted to do and what stage he is at and we are prepared to do anything we can to help him, so he is going to be training sometimes with us, he’s going to be around the place continuing his coaching badges that he is very interested in.”

“We will try to get him fit, try to get his experiences across to our players, our young players, our academy and I think it’s a great influence to have around”

However, when asked about his potential return to the first team, the Spaniard was quick to shut the door on the idea, saying:

“We should help him prepare for his next stage, physically, mentally, he wants to do his coaching badges again and we are prepared to fulfil all the needs that he wants. That’s basically the idea and it is no further than that”

Finally, he was asked about what he felt Jack Wilshere could bring to the club, and was keen to point out the effect he could have on the Hale End academy graduates:

“He has experienced that better than anyone else, he was an extremely successful player, and we have some really good examples of the path [to the senior team] and as I said before, it’s about making it here, beginning to establish yourself and then taking it to the next level for many years and that is very complicated and I think Jack has a great experience to show and talk about what he has been through in his career”

“We all love him, we want to have him around, we are happy to have him around and he is a big part of our history”