"I was playing for Luton and we were playing against Barnet and the ref was actually scouting for Arsenal," Jack Wilshere told The Lockdown Tactics podcast.
"He came up to my Dad afterwards and told him he wanted me to come along. He didn’t even say it was a trial he just wanted to sign me for Arsenal. It was strange because there must have been some sort of transfer window where that sort of thing could happen but I’ll be honest with you I didn’t want to go.
"I was 15 minutes from Luton to get to London every day. My Dad with his job he would have to finish work early. My Dad didn’t put any pressure on me but at the time I didn’t know what to do.
That one-touch build-up to Wilshere's goal looks impressive is really memorable:
"I remember it so clearly, I was nine and I was in the park with my mate. My Dad pulled up in his little red van and said this is your last day, you’ve got to make a decision.
"I said to my mate fuck it I’m going to Arsenal and the rest is history. Fair play to my Dad because we didn’t have much as a kid, he was a plumber.
"He used to finish work at 4, then we’d be out the door and it would take an hour to get to London from where I lived and that was like three times a week from when I was 10."
Jack Wilshere made his way through the youth ranks to get into the senior Arsenal squad. His talent was evident and the style of play was eye-catching in his early years.
But unfortunately, the midfielder's progress was badly hampered by a string of injuries. Gradually, he was downgraded to a benchwarmer before switching Arsenal for West Ham.
