JACK WILSHERE revealed Mikel Arteta’s advice to “swim as hard as you can” after diving into management at Luton.
Former Arsenal star Wilshere, 33, has , who were in the Premier League two seasons ago but now sit 11th in League One.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had some important advice for Jack Wilshere before he was named Luton Town manager
Arteta told ex-Arsenal team-mate Wilshere to ‘swim as hard as you can’
He becomes the latest top player to turn his hand to coaching and has Gunners chief as a close ally from their playing days with the North Londoners.
sees a similarity between his Kenilworth Road post and to when the untested Spaniard was chucked in at the deep end at the Emirates in 2019, albeit at a lower level.
He said: “I spoke to Mikel about a year ago and said, ‘Mikel, when did you know you were ready?’
“He laughed and said, ‘You just have to jump in and swim as hard as you can’.
“He’s obviously done that really well and I was close to that [working at ].
“This feels a little bit similar to that, of course it’s a different level, but when Mikel went in, it wasn’t a nice place at Arsenal. The fans were not sure what was happening.
“What he did was he built a complete unity, a complete trust in what he was doing and a very family [feel]. It feels like a family here as well.
“Getting people on board and to believe, and convincing them. Mikel was good at that and there’s definitely things I’ll take from him on this journey.”
Wilshere’s only previous first-team managerial experience came with an unbeaten two games as interim boss of in April.
But he did serve as Under-18s head coach at Arsenal between 2022 and 2024, where his relationship with Arteta grew while serving under the Spaniard.
The former England playmaker was one of nine candidates to be seriously considered by Town, undergoing four separate interviews and having to win over eight different people to land the role.
Most fans know Wilshere, who will be assisted by ex-Charlton boss Chris Powell, as Mr Arsenal having come through the Gunners academy and winning two FA Cups there.
But was actually where it all started for him, joining the club aged seven before “breaking the heart” of his Hatters youth coach by leaving for Arsenal two years later.
Wilshere also spent a fortnight training with the Hatters in 2021 under Nathan Jones.
It was then when he realised his injury-hit body could no longer cope with the physical demands of English football but when the idea of a future in coaching began to take hold.
Wilshere said: “I feel really honoured. I know about this club. I started here. I’ve had a connection with them for many, many years, recently going back to train.
Another ‘risky’ appointment?
“Nathan Jones kindly invited me back and I loved every minute. It was before the team were promoted to the Premier League and I really wanted to be part of it.
“But actually, it was probably the reason that I started thinking about coaching. The intensity that Nathan would bring and the intensity around the training ground.
“I wanted to be part of it but unfortunately my body said ‘no’. As soon as the opportunity came up, I was excited.”
Wilshere has joined former England team-mates like Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard in pursuing management.
That hat-trick of stellar names have had mixed experiences, with the former two currently out of work, while ex-Chelsea chief Lampard has Coventry at the top of the Championship.
Some will suggest appointing untried Wilshere, who begins his Luton tenure at home to Mansfield on Saturday, is risky.
‘Few more eyes watching’
Though Hatters CEO Gary Sweet pointed out that in the last five years, eight bosses have been appointed to League One posts with no previous managerial experience and four have been promoted.
Wilshere admits there will be “a few more eyes watching” him because of who he is, but wants to be judged solely on his managerial record.
Speaking at his unveiling at Kenilworth Road, he explained: “I don’t want people to think about my playing career.
“Yes, there’s many things I can use from my playing career, my experiences with coaches good and bad, to try to make me the coach I am today.
“But the first week I had with Arsenal Under-18s, I quickly realised that this is something I’m going to have to get better at. Being a good player doesn’t make you a good coach.
“I wanted to be clear that I didn’t want to step to a first-team until I was ready for it. I wanted to learn about it. I did, then I went to Norwich and that taught me so much.
“This is a new Jack Wilshere, a different Jack Wilshere who is hungry to achieve great things and I’m so grateful to Gary and the club for giving me that opportunity.”
Arteta and Wilshere played and worked together at Arsenal 
