Jack Wilshere has revealed how Arsene Wenger reacted to his off-field antics during his playing career – such as when he was caught smoking a cigarette in London.
Back in 2014, just after the World Cup finished, pictures emerged of England stars Wilshere and Joe Hart misbehaving at a pool party in Las Vegas.
Wilshere came under particular scrutiny when photos showed him smoking a cigarette at the event. The picture was used on a number of back pages at the time.
Now, during an appearance on Simon Jordan’s Up Front podcast, Wilshere has reflected on his antics and revealed Wenger’s reaction.
Wilshere said: ‘I never like saying it myself but I was so dedicated. Like, from the age of 9 [I was] making sacrifices. I loved it, it didn’t feel like a sacrifice at the time. Then all of a sudden, I got into the first-team, got a little bit of money.
Jack Wilshere revealed how Arsene Wenger reacted to his off-field antics during his career
![Wenger (R) coached Wilshere for 10 seasons during their respective stints in north London](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/21/15/82735963-13223789-image-a-2_1711034094486.jpg)
Wenger (R) coached Wilshere for 10 seasons during their respective stints in north London
‘Growing up, going out in London was never a thing, I didn’t think about it. Then, all of a sudden I’ve got Samir Nasri as my mate. [He] lives in London, I might go and stay at his, we might pop out to a nice restaurant. My life did change but I was still good at separating it.
‘The smoking fags thing… I remember actually s***ing myself for the first time with Arsene when that happened. I was on the back page with a fag. I was thinking ‘Oh my god, what’s Arsene going to think?’.
‘But he was unbelievable. He was just like ‘Make sure that when you’re here, you’re focused’. He actually said, ‘When I was a young player, I used to like [mimics smoking] sometimes’. And I thought ‘Oh my god, this is what I needed to hear”.
The former Arsenal star also reflected on his chant aimed at rival Tottenham fans, which secured himself a £40,000 fine.
During Arsenal’s FA Cup celebration in 2015, Wilshere asked the crowd: ‘What do we think of Tottenham?’… with fans answering ‘s***’. Wilshere then shouted: ‘And what do we think of s***?’ Fans reply ‘Tottenham.’
![Wilshere aimed a chant at rivals Tottenham during Arsenal's open-top bus parade in 2015](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/21/15/82736301-13223789-image-a-13_1711034405010.jpg)
Wilshere aimed a chant at rivals Tottenham during Arsenal’s open-top bus parade in 2015
Speaking on the incident during his podcast appearance, Wilshere said: ‘The singing on the balcony! My mum was an Arsenal fan but all of her family were Tottenham fans.
‘So I grew up with a constant back-and-forth banter. But I remember just thinking that this was the moment I’d been waiting for my whole life.
‘I was just going to give em a little bit. Of course I regret that’.