Jack Wilshere credits Mikel Arteta while reflecting on first year as Luton manager
October 3, 2026 07:30
Jack Wilshere has spoken about how Mikel Arteta helped shape his approach to coaching as he reflects on the first year of his senior managerial career at Luton Town. In an interview for BBC Sport's The Football Interview with Kelly Somers, Wilshere discussed his transition from player to coach and his early success with the Hatters.
KEY CONTEXT
Wilshere began playing at Luton aged seven and later won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2014 and 2015. He made 182 Premier League appearances and won 34 England caps, featuring at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 European Championship in France. Persistent injuries led him to retire at the age of 30.
After retiring, Wilshere returned to Arsenal to work with their under-18s, arriving the day after he announced his retirement: "I retired on a Monday, and I was in with the [under] 18s on a Tuesday," he told BBC Sport. That immediate move into coaching convinced him that management was the path he wanted to follow.
THE ARTETA INFLUENCE
Wilshere said he observed Arteta closely after the former team-mate became Arsenal first-team manager. He described asking Arteta why he planned sessions in a particular way and being shown the reasoning behind the methods. "I was influenced by Mikel," Wilshere said, adding that he had to learn how to teach and plan sessions himself.
EARLY MANAGERIAL MILESTONES
On 13 October it will be one year since Wilshere took charge of Luton Town in his first senior management job; he had earlier been interim boss at Norwich City for a two-game spell at the end of the previous season. During his time with Luton he has already won silverware, guiding the club to the EFL Trophy when they beat Stockport County 3-1 at Wembley in April in front of nearly 50,000 supporters.
WHY IT MATTERS
Wilshere's account charts a rapid shift from player to coach: a decorated playing career cut short by injury, an immediate return to youth coaching at Arsenal, close learning from a modern top-level manager and a first senior role that brought a trophy at Wembley. Those facts illustrate both the speed of his transition into management and tangible early success.
WHERE TO WATCH
The interview appears on The Football Interview, which is available on BBC One at 12:45 BST every Saturday during the Premier League season and on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Football YouTube channel and the BBC Sport website and app. The episode featuring Wilshere is scheduled to be shown on BBC One at 12:45 BST on Saturday, 3 October.