Jack Wilshere has lauded former Arsenal team-mate and current Gunners boss Mikel Arteta as different to anyone else that he had experienced in football because of his leadership skills.
Arteta signed for Arsenal in 2011 from Everton when Wilshere, who is currently head coach of the Arsenal Under-18s, was also at the club.
And Wilshere says he was impressed by the Spaniard’s immediate impact at the club.
“When Mikel Arteta came to Arsenal, you could tell straight away that he was a leader – he was different,” Wilshere told the William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan.
“He was a good player and he was technically very good. His understanding of the game was great and he was a leader and talker. He was different to anyone that I had experienced at the point when he came in.
“I was injured and in a boot when he joined. On his first day he asked me, ‘how long are you out for Jack?’ It was as straight as that. He told me I needed to hurry up and get back and as little as that may sound, to me he understood that I was a good player and he wanted me back in the team – no one else had really ever done that.
“He led by example, he was always on time and did everything else that you would expect from someone like Mikel.”
Wilshere, 32, left Arsenal permanently in 2018 following persistent injury problems but says there were signs while he was at the club that Arteta would become a successful manager.
“He was very much an arm around the shoulder, empathetic kind of person.,” Wilshere continued.
“However, I remember him having heated discussions with other team members from time to time, he could be both types of leader; we saw that with how he dealt with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang in the documentary.
“One of the traits I really like about him is that he has a lot of humility. That is not an easy thing to have as a Premier League manager.
“As a player, he would challenge managers in individual moments and specific processes. He would be the guy representing the team to question whether things like match preparation and game plans were right for us.”
