Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere spoke on The Lockdown Podcast about his brilliant performance against Barcelona in the Champions League back in 2011.
Wilshere announced himself on the global stage as a teenager, with arguably his performance in an Arsenal shirt against possibly one of the greatest sides in the history of the game.
Gunners supporters believed that they had found the next big thing in English football after that night but, sadly, injuries ruined Wilshere’s career at the Emirates.
However, the Englishman still has fond memories of the praise he received after that game, and he revealed on the podcast what Samir Nasri told him a couple of days after.
Wilshere said: “Over the next few days I remember Nasri saying to me after the game, ‘You need to stay at this level now, you’ve just gone up a couple of levels, this needs to be your level, week in, week out.’
“It’s alright everyone else saying it, but when it comes from your team-mates, the people who see you every day, it meant more.”
A midfield trio of Nasri, Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas was then viewed as the future of Arsenal but all of them had to move on for different reasons.
Wilshere’s fitness issues are continuing to haunt him at West Ham United, which really is a shame considering how good he would have been if he could have stayed injury-free.
His future at West Ham could also be in doubt due to the same problems, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Hammers let him leave in the upcoming window.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
