Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere has lifted the lid on what Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is really like behind the scenes.
Wilshere spent five years sharing the Arsenal dressing room with Arteta during their shared time as players, under the guidance of then-manager Arsene Wenger. In that time, the north London club won two FA Cups but faced intense fan scrutiny due to rarely challenging for the game's biggest honours.
In Wilshere's case, the now-retired former England ace spent more than his fair share of time on the treatment table nursing various injuries. Having burst onto the scene as a teenager, Wilshere had already rubbed shoulders with the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie by the time Arteta joined in 2011.
However, the current coach of Arsenal's under-18 team has since revealed Arteta's character was unlike any other he'd experienced. Speaking to William Hill's Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast, Wilshere explained: "When Mikel Arteta came to Arsenal, you could tell straight away that he was a leader – he was different.
"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."
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Wilshere went on by recalling an exchange with Arteta that made quite the impression on him. Despite only just arriving from Everton, the Spaniard asked the Arsenal academy graduate how long he'd be sidelined and that he needed to hurry up and return to full fitness.
It struck a chord with Wilshere, who was clearly heartened by the fact that Arteta viewed him as an integral part of the Gunners crop at that time. He continued by discussing what kind of leader the former Arsenal skipper was, painting a picture of the man before he took the reins as manager of the club in 2019.
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Jack Wilshere has shed light on what Mikel Arteta is really like (Sky Sports)Wilshere added: "He was very much an arm around the shoulder, empathetic kind of person. 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."
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