Jack Wilshere is 29 years old and has no team. Last year wore the Bournemouth jersey during the second half of the season, he played 17 games – 11 of them as a starter – and no one has called him again this summer. The one that one day He was the most exciting footballer in England, today he is a player without a team and, even worse, without offers. “I feel that a door has been closed to me in my country,” says Wilshere in an interview in The Athletic.
The former Arsenal midfielder explains how difficult it is to find himself in this position when not so long ago he had his entire career ahead of him: “I never in my life thought I would be in this position. Today I was running on a running track. Everyone told me that at 28 or 29 I was going to be at the top of my career. And I thought that this would be the case, that I would continue to play for England, that I would continue in a top club … “.
In his family life, Wilshere experiences scenes that are being difficult for him to explain: “My children are already at an age where they understand things. Archie, who is nine, asks me: What do you think of MLS? Why aren't you playing in the league? He loves football, he knows everything. Sometimes he says to me: Why doesn't any team want you? I do not know. How do I explain it? They have friends at school and you know how children are, they can be very tough. Why doesn't your dad work? Is he not a good footballer?“In fact, the two little ones, Siena and Jack, have never seen their father play football:” The most difficult thing is trying to explain it when they ask things like: Then why don't you sign for a team in England? And I think: because nobody loves me. “
After debuting at the age of 16, shining in the Champions League shortly after, or playing multiple games for the England team, Wilshere acknowledges that he should never have left Arsenal, even when they told him he was not going to start: “I should never have left Arsenal and this has nothing to do with West Ham [the team he signed for when he left Arsenal] because I was a fan when I was little. I had a conversation with Wenger when I came back from my assignment at Bournemouth and they stayed 12 months of contract. He told me: “You can go, here we are not going to offer you a new contract.” I knew that Wenger valued me as a footballer and I knew that if I had games I could gain confidence. I had the same conversation when I sat down with Emery and he said, 'Look, here you have a new contract but you're not going to be in my starting lineup.' I remember that I left angry, I called my agent and told him that I had to go. Maybe I should have taken a few days to think that I could have fought for a position in that midfield “, remember.
And now? To keep waiting for an offer? In what part of the world? Wilshere wants new experiences: “Maybe it's because of my injury history and the references that people are giving but I think it's unfair, the last time I was injured was in January 2020. I am open to playing abroad. In fact, I want to go and try something different, it will be good for me and my family. I want you not to think: “Look, here is Wilshere, he is going to get injured today … or he will play five games and it will be a waste of money.”