Jack Wilshere reveals surprise at playing in the Emirates Cup

Posted Saturday, June 27, 2015 by squawka.com

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has relived the moment he was given his first team bow in the Emirates Cup back in 2008 and admits he was extremely surprised at the time, as per the club’s official website.

The 23-year-old came up through Arsenal’s youth academy and impressed from an early age, which prompted Wenger to give him his big chance seven years ago.

Wilshere made his competitive first team debut in 2008 in a league game against Blackburn Rovers, becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant at the age of 16 years, 256 days.

However, prior to that Wilshere was involved in the club’s pre-season friendlies and Wenger gave him his home bow in front of 60,000 people at the Emirates – something he was extremely surprised at.

Wilshere said: “We used to go to Austria after training at London Colney for two weeks. There was always loads of young players training for the first couple of weeks and then if you made the Austria trip you thought, ‘Okay, this is where it really starts’. I was only 16 so I didn’t expect to make it.

''There were 18-year-olds around me, but I got on the trip. It went from there really. We played a couple of games, I scored a couple of goals, and then we came back and I was involved in the Emirates Cup. I was thinking, ‘Oh my God I’m going to play at the Emirates in front of 60,000’.

''I started the first game – I didn’t expect to play any part in it – and then after that it was club day and I remember the boss asking me which number I would like, 18 or 19. That’s when I knew I was going to be involved in the squad.”

Jack Wilshere reveals surprise at playing in the Emirates Cup

The England international has had a crocked time as an Arsenal player, with a series of injuries overshadowing his very promising career.

Wilshere’s 2014/15 campaign was another one under the injury-hit column after he suffered ankle ligament damage in a clash with Manchester United back in November.

The 23-year-old has always been rated as one of the finest young English players and his two fantastic goals against Slovenia a couple of weeks ago was a testament to that sort of praise.