Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been named as one of the best players in Arsenal training this season by under-18 star Bradley Ibrahim.
Mikel Arteta allowed Wilshere the chance to train at London Colney as he looked to retain match sharpness in his hunt for a new club and the 29-year-old has clearly been impressing.
Since leaving Arsenal in 2018, Wilshere has spent time with West Ham and Bournemouth but his release by the Cherries at the end of last season saw him thrust into the free-agent world.
Barring a brief spell training in Italy, few opportunities have come his way, but it seems he is having a positive impact on the current Arsenal squad in training, something Arteta wanted to see when he made this decision.
“He wants to do his coaching badges again and we are prepared to fulfill all the needs that he wants. That is basically the idea and it is no further than that,” the Spaniard said last month.
"I am very happy to have him back. We had a conversation with Jack and understand the needs that he has, the period that he is going through and I think everyone at the club agreed it was the right moment to help him.
“He is going to be training sometimes with us, he is going to be around the place, he is going to be continuing his coaching badges that he is very interested in, try to get him fit, try to get his experiences across to our players, our young players, our academy and I think it is a great influence to have around.”
On Tuesday, youngster Ibrahim took to Instagram to take part in a Q&A on his story. One question he was was asked was who the best players he had trained with were.
In his reply, the 17-year-old tagged both Wilshere and Ben White, showing that Arteta's masterstroke to have the former academy graduate positively impact on others is working.
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The future for now remains unclear for Wilshere, but in a recent interview with BBC Sport, he insisted that he still backed himself to perform on the pitch.
"I 100 per cent think I can still play. I don't care what people say or write or what they say on social media," he said. "I am an honest guy. If I didn't think I could, I would be the first to say: 'Enough, I am going to do something else'.
"But I am almost at the point where I think something different, abroad, might be beneficial to me."
