by Jack Wilshere has revealed he is considering up quitting football at just 29 because there are no offers tabled for him ahead of the new season.
The Former Arsenal star whose career has been plagued by injuries is currently a free agent, with his most recent spell in the game coming with Bournemouth last year in the Championship.
Despite making 18 appearances in total and helping them to the play-offs, Wilshere was released and he has now revealed that he is struggling to find a new club.
Speaking to The Athletic, the midfielder opened up on the pain of struggling to secure a club and trying to avoid ‘wasting’ his time by waiting around.
Questioned on whether he feels his career may be drawing to a close, Wilshere said: ‘Yeah, that does cross my mind quite a lot.
‘When you’re at a club and training every day, you wake up and if you’re not in a team, or even if you are in the team, you think, “Right, I’ve got to train well today. I need to show the manager I’m ready for the weekend”. I don’t have that.
‘So I’m waking up in the mornings at the moment and I’m thinking, “Right, I need to go and train somewhere”. Normally it’s on my own… OK, I’ve been training with a club in pre-season but that’s finished now.
‘I’m back to waking up, training on my own and finding that motivation. ‘And the question I keep asking myself at the moment is: What am I doing it for?
‘I said to my agent I don’t want to be in that position where I’m waiting and waiting and before you know it January comes and I’ve almost wasted another season.
‘I’m not getting any younger and I don’t want that. I did that last year, so to do it again… I feel like I’d be wasting my time.’
Painfully, Wilshere also recalled a moment where his son, Archie, aged nine, asked him why no clubs are interested in him.
‘My kids are at an age where they understand,’ Wilshere added. ‘Especially Archie, who’s nine. He’s actually having conversations with me, saying, “What about the MLS?” or “Why aren’t you playing in La Liga?”
‘He loves football. He knows everything about football. And it is difficult to explain to him. He’ll say to me, “How come no club wants you?” I don’t know. But how do I explain that to him?
‘They’ve got friends at school and you know what kids can be like, they can be quite brutal. “Why is your dad not working? Is he not good enough? Is he not good at football?” Yeah, that’s tough.’
And as the wait goes on for Wilshere, with the Premier League having also returned, he has continued to reflect on how his world came crashing down.
‘Being honest, I probably never thought I’d be in this position,’ he said. ‘Today I was running around an athletics track and struggling to imagine I would be here at this point in my career.
‘Everyone used to say to me, “(At) 28, 29… you’ll be at the peak of your career”. And I thought I would. I thought I’d still be playing for England, (that) I’d be at a top club.’
Wilshere came burst into the spotlight as a youngster in the Emirates and, at just 16 years of age, was predicted to reach the very top. But severe and persistent injuries, including serious ankle problems and a broken leg, have derailed his career.
