Wilshere out of 'comfort zone' in Norwich role

Jack Wilshere hopes his coaching role with Norwich City leads to a career in management

Former England midfielder Jack Wilshere had one eye on the future when he was tempted away from his academy role at Arsenal last October to become a first-team coach at Norwich City.

Having won 32 caps, appeared at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, and picked up two FA Cup winners' medals as a player, he now has the ambition of one day forging a career in management.

And moving back into what he calls the "real world" of men's football, he has been so intent on establishing his coaching credentials at Championship level that the attractions of the city have barely registered.

"I've not had much time to go out in Norwich. I got a haircut, actually, but apart from that, with the schedule being the way it has been, I haven't had much time," he told BBC Radio Norfolk's The Scrimmage.

"Growing up as a player, you were reminded a lot, 'Don't be in your comfort zone, don't be in your comfort zone', and that kind of always stuck with me, and my ambition - and I've been open about this - is to be a head coach at some point.

"Now, of course, I don't know how far that is away and I'm humble enough to know that being the Under-18 head coach and then stepping into first-team football as a head coach is a big step."

Emirates connection led to Norwich role

Jack Wilshere and Johannes Hoff Thorup celebrate a Norwich goal

Wilshere is still only 33 years old, but a series of injuries took a toll on his body, prompting him to retire after also playing for West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth and Danish club Aarhus - which is where he first came across Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup.

"I saw a few of his teams before, when I played in Denmark, so I sort of knew about him and the way he saw football. And then when I sat down and spoke with him, it was clear that this was the right step for me," he said.

The other key figure in Wilshere's move to Carrow Road, though, was sporting director Ben Knapper, who previously worked at the Emirates Stadium as loans manager and analyst.

"I've known Ben since 2007, 2008. He was really forward-thinking at a time when there weren't really many analysts and always thought about the game in a certain way, and he developed his thinking, his knowledge of that. I suppose we developed a sort of trust between us," he said.

"I know he was a big part of Mikael [Arteta] getting the job at Arsenal. And he knows [West Ham boss] Graham Potter, so when you look at that and you think about his knowledge of coaches, and then bringing Johannes in, yeah, he was a big part of it."

He continued: "Trying to grow [as a coach] and trying to develop a playing style and a culture in the club with a new manager and new technical director, it's really exciting to be part of it. I'm really grateful to Ben and to Johannes for giving me the opportunity to come and work with them."

Arsenal youngsters impress former boss

Jack Wilshire playing for England against Portugal in a 2016 friendly international

Wilshere still follows the fortunes of Arsenal, the club where he made 190 appearances over 10 years and later returned to in the summer of 2022 as manager of their Under-18 team.

And he keeps an especially close eye on the progress of former members of his youth squad, including 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who scored one of the goals in their 5-1 demolition of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City last weekend - a game Wilshere was able to attend.

"It was the first time I've been back. Johannes and a group of the staff were there, we decided it would be a good one to go to - and what a game to do it," he said.

"Of course, I want Arsenal to do well, but I was really happy as well for Ethan Nwaneri and Myles, who obviously played in my team before.

"When you see two young players making an impact in big games - Myles has played in the Champions League now, and I think he played in the FA Cup against [Manchester] United, a big game - scoring goals and helping the team, I think that's a credit to everyone in the academy."

Norwich won the FA Youth Cup in 2013 and have a fine academy set-up of their own, but Wilshere believes it is an area the club should look to develop even further.

"I know Johannes is massive on the academy and trying to get players through into the [first] team, and I know that Norwich also has a recent history of doing that.

"It's so important, and something that really motivates me is young players coming through the academy and given that opportunity, and I believe we've got a manager here that believes in that."

A career with no regrets

Having reached the Championship play-offs last season under former boss David Wagner, Norwich are currently eighth in the table, just two points outside the top six, as they try again to secure a return to the Premier League.

So how is Wilshere finding the job of trying to hone the skills of the likes of Josh Sargent, Borja Sainz, Marcelino Nunez and Lewis Dobbin?

"I've had a career that was up, down, up, down, a lot of injuries, some injuries maybe could have been avoided, but I always tried to look at it with no regrets and just try and move forward," he said.

"When you're in an academy and you're an ex-player and not too far away from the game, recently retired, there's always like a feeling that it's different coaching Under- 16s, 17s, 18s than it is to men.

"That was probably the thing that I was trying to get most out of at the start and trying to understand how to work with them, understand what they need in terms of information in sessions, information before games, and, yeah, I've really enjoyed it.

"There are different challenges when you're working with 18s, of setting up a session or dealing with their emotions - these guys are men, they're professionals, they want to win, they want to get promoted, and they want to know the best way to do that, so it's a different way of thinking, but I'm really enjoying it."