Former and England star Jack Wilshere has announced his retirement from professional football, aged 30.
The midfielder burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old prodigee and became the youngest player in the club’s history when he made his debut in 2008.
Wilshere quickly established himself as a key component of an Arsene Wenger side built around a clutch of gifted, young midfield technicians.
A series of deliberating injuries, however, robbed Wilshere of the best years of his career and he struggled to fulfil his potential before he left his boyhood club shortly after Arsene Wenger’s departure in 2018.
Spells at Bournemouth and West Ham followed but he never hit the heights he did during the early stages of a career which yielded 34 England caps.
After regaining fitness last year while training with Arsenal, Wilshere attempted to relaunch his career in Denmark with AGF and made 14 appearances.
After that spell came to and end, however, Wilshere has taken the decision to hang up his boots and issued a lengthy, emotional statement on Friday.
‘Today I am announcing my retirement from playing professional football,’ he wrote. ‘It has been an unbelievable journey filled with so many incredible moments and I feel privileged to have experienced all that I did during my career.
‘From being the little boy kicking a ball around in the garden to captaining my beloved Arsenal and playing for my country at a World Cup. I have lived my dream.
‘In truth it has been difficult to accept that my career has been slipping away in recent times due to reasons outside of my control whilst feeling that I have still had so much to give.
‘Having played at the very highest level I have always held such huge ambitions within the game and if I am truthful I did not envisage being in this position at times.
‘However, having had time to reflect and talk with those closest with me I know that now is the right time and despite the difficult moments I look back on my career with great pride at what I have achieved.’
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