Arsenal confirm return of club legend Jack Wilshere as U18 coach after former England star retired aged 30

ARSENAL have confirmed the appointment of Jack Wilshere as the club’s new Under-18 head coach.

The former England midfielder, 30, announced his retirement last Friday after missing out on more than four years of football during an injury-riddled playing career.

Now he will be in charge of promoting the best young talent from the club’s Hale End academy after he was allowed to help coach the kids by Mikel Arteta last year.

Wilshere said: “This is a big opportunity for me and I am ready, I’m hungry and I can’t wait to help these young players thrive and be the best they can.

“It’s no secret that I love this club and what it stands for and that love never left me.

“Even though I moved on for a few years, my heart was always still at Arsenal.

“A big part of my life was spent in this academy, some of the best days of my life. It’s a huge honour to have this role.”

Academy manager Per Mertesacker said: “Everyone knows how passionate Jack is about Arsenal.

“He understands what we want to achieve here and he really impressed us last year. 

“He knows exactly what it takes to progress through the academy into the first team.”

The club have also promoted Mehmet Ali to Under-23 coach to replace Kevin Betsy, who was recently appointed Crawley manager.

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Wilshere was once considered to be one of the most talented English footballers of his generation.

He spent a decade in Arsenal‘s first team, before spells with West Ham and Bournemouth and then lastly a brief stint in Denmark at AGF.

He also received 34 caps for England, scoring two goals, but has not featured since 2016 after a number of injury issues.