‘Never like that’ – Jack Wilshere reveals secret to Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri’s meteoric rise at Arsenal
JACK WILSHERE knows all about being an Arsenal prodigy and making an England debut at 18.
And he reckons Myles Lewis-Skelly will follow in his footsteps — then potentially become a World Cup star.
The Gunners’ left-back sensation will still be a teenager at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Yet Wilshere believes Lewis-Skelly has the ability and mental toughness to immediately become a key player for Thomas Tuchel.
England’s new boss staged his first training session at St George’s Park yesterday ahead of Friday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Albania.
With the Three Lions struggling with left-backs, Lewis-Skelly has an excellent chance to make his debut then, or against Latvia on Monday.
The youngster played for Wilshere when Arsenal Under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup final two years ago — alongside Ethan Nwaneri, 17.
And Wilshere, 33, reckons it is not a problem if a rising star leapfrogs the England Under-21s set-up to go straight into the senior team.
He said: “With Myles, it is not a case of, ‘Is he too young?’.
“He just wants to be in a team, wants to lead and has an incredible family around him — and that’s important as well. He’d be able to handle playing at the World Cup.
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“I remember my journey coming through and I was in the first team at Arsenal, then I was called into the U19s at England.
“Don’t get me wrong, at that point I was just happy to represent my country and wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh, now I’m ready for the first team’.
“But I was going from training with the first team, playing in the Champions League, playing in the Premier League, to then playing U19s.
“But we can be braver as a nation and Jude Bellingham has shown that as he went quickly into the senior team.”
Wilshere — who made his Lions debut against Hungary in 2010 — admitted Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri stood out when he was working with Arsenal’s youth team.
He only left in October to become Norwich’s first-team coach.
And Wilshere, taking his Uefa Pro Licence at St George’s Park with the FA, said: “In U15s, U16s and U18s football, those two could always make something happen but they are very different people.
“Myles is more of a natural leader and wants to bring everyone with him.
“Ethan is just really driven and asks, ‘What do I need to do?’ He would come and seek advice and feedback from coaches.
“In the world we live in, with social media, there are other distractions for players.
“It’s harder and you see players get distracted by that — but Ethan and Myles were never like that.”
He just wants to be in a team, wants to lead and has an incredible family around him — and that’s important as well. He’d be able to handle playing at the World Cup.
Jack Wilsher on Myles Lewis-Skelly
Wilshere played 34 times for England but would have had many more caps if not for injury issues.
Yet now he is loving life as a coach after being inspired by former Arsenal team-mate Mikel Arteta when he became Gunners manager.
Wilshere, now working under Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich, said: “I was nervous when I started my coaching journey.
“Then I saw Mikel coach and I’d never seen someone coach that way. Watching him inspired me to do it. I want to be a head coach.
“I’m in a good environment at Norwich with a head coach who sees the game in a really similar way to me.”
Yet Wilshere feels football is now too rigid — with players not being encouraged to express themselves.
He said: “I was taught to play in a certain way.
“Arsene Wenger gave a lot of responsibility and the academy played the same as the first team.
“But it wasn’t, ‘This is how we play, this is what you need to do’. It was like, ‘Your own understanding of the game, your own insight, will create moments for you’.
“Now everyone plays the same way. Let’s see if the game changes where players have to take more responsibility and get more freedom as it’s very structural now.”