Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has revealed the incredible story about how he joined the club, including how he was scouted by a referee.
The England international came through the ranks in North London before excelling as a breakout teenage star, establishing himself as a fans' favourite.
However, he was plagued by injury issues during his time at the Emirates Stadium and left in 2018 to join West Ham, following a spell on loan with Bournemouth.
In the two years since, he has made just 14 Premier League appearances and Wilshere has now revealed how is initial move to Arsenal materialised.
"I was playing for Luton and we were playing against Barnet and the ref was actually scouting for Arsenal," he 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.
"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, 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."
