Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere accepts that he is a “risk” when it comes to managerial appointments, with the ex-England international accepting a challenging first full-time coaching job. At just 33 years of age, and with limited experience under his belt, Wilshere has taken the reins at League One side Luton Town – with that move ensuring that his career has gone full circle.
Wilshere's career: How he ended up at Luton
Wilshere, who earned 34 senior caps for his country, started out in the academy system at Luton before moving on to Arsenal in 2001. He would spend 17 years tied to the Gunners, taking in 197 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Unfortunate injuries prevented him from making more of an impact at the very highest level.
Once it became apparent that his body could no longer handle the demands of playing, Wilshere moved into coaching. He led Arsenal’s U18 side to the FA Youth Cup final in 2023 – where they lost to another of his former clubs, West Ham – before leaving north London in October 2024 to become a first-team coach alongside Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich City. Two games – a goalless draw with Middlesbrough and a 4-2 win over Cardiff City – were taken in as caretaker boss of the Canaries when Thorup was sacked.
Having accepted that he was not in contention to fill that role on a permanent basis, Wilshere left Carrow Road over the summer. He has completed his pro-license course and finds himself back in the dugout after being appointed as successor to Matt Bloomfield at Kenilworth Road. He will have experienced former Southend United and Charlton Athletic manager Chris Powell alongside him, with Wilshere excited to be taking on a new challenge.
AdvertisementCoaching gamble: Element of risk in Wilshere appointment
Quizzed on whether he could be considered a gamble by the Hatters, Wilshere said: “I’m sure whenever he (CEO Gary Sweet) hires a manager there’s probably an element of risk. I made it pretty clear to Gary and all the staff here which I think is important because as it does feel like a family, and Gary wasn’t the only one who needed convincing, it was a real unity in the staff I felt, but my experiences as a player, I’ve thought about this a lot, is very important. Chris Powell will be next to me, but my experience of being in top environments, high pressure environments since I was 16 years old, I think that experience is very beneficial
“Of course there’s different challenges and I’ve had really good experiences of coaching so far and I’ve had some tough experiences as well. There’ll be many more new experiences, but I think the most important thing is am I ready for this? Yes. Am I ambitious? Yes. Do I want to achieve great things with Luton and get back to the Championship and really make that clear? Yes. And I feel like I’m ready. It’s a very, very proud moment for me, for my family, a massive, massive honour.
“Maybe it hasn't sunk in just yet, I know about this club, I started here, I've had a connection with them for many, many years, recently going back to train, but I’m really excited and really honoured. As soon as the opportunity came up, I was excited. I spoke to Gary first, Gary was excited, we were both excited and the process has been really good and good for both of us as probably he’s got to know me a bit more, I got to know a little bit more about what’s happening at the club and it was very good. It was intense at times, but I’ve enjoyed it.”
Ex-England star Wilshere eager to impress
Wilshere is eager to separate his playing career from a new coaching venture, with a fresh start being embraced. He added: “I’ve said before many times that I don’t want people to think about my playing career. There’s many things that I can use from my playing career, my experiences with different coaches, good, bad and try and make me the coach I am today, but the first week at Arsenal when I was there with the 18s, I quickly realised that this is something that I’m going to have to get better at.
“Being a good player doesn’t make you a good coach. There’s many things that are quite different and you have to understand that. You have to understand how the club works internally and I wanted to be clear that I didn’t want to step to a first team until I was ready to do that. I wanted to learn about it, and when I did, I went to Norwich and that taught me so much.
“I was in the real world, I was competing for three points. It wasn’t always easy, we had a tough spell, so of course all those experiences and as a player as well, but now this is a new Jack Wilshere, a different Jack Wilshere, who is hungry to achieve great things and I’m so grateful to Gary at the club for giving me the opportunity.”
GettyWhy Luton need Wilshere to make an immediate impact
Wilshere is following former England colleagues such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney into the world of management – with other high-profile figures experiencing some mixed results in coaching.
Luton need Wilshere to make an immediate impact as – having graced the Premier League in 2023-24 – they have suffered back-to-back relegations and now find themselves languishing 11th in the League One table. Wilshere’s first game at the helm will be a home date with Mansfield Town on Saturday.