Arsenal's top 5 academy graduates

#5 Jack Wilshere

A tremendous talent, injuries have unfortunately curtailed Jack Wilshere's career

It’s safe to say that it was expected at one point that Jack Wilshere would top a list like this; when the gifted midfielder first broke through into Arsenal’s first team in 2008, it seemed like he was destined for greatness, and his abilities with the ball – particularly his gift for simply drifting past defenders – earned him comparisons to the great Paul Gascoigne.

But more than a decade on, he feels like England’s forgotten man, thanks in the most part to a horrendous record with injuries.

Wilshere first signed with Arsenal as a 9-year-old back in 2001, and worked his way through their various academy sides until Arsene Wenger awarded him with a spot in the first-team squad for the 2008-09 season, handing him his senior debut shortly afterwards. At the age of 16 years and 256 days, he became Arsenal’s youngest-ever league debutant.

The midfielder signed his first professional contract at the start of 2009, and from there it appeared that the sky was the limit; by 2010-11 he was a regular at Arsenal and had broken into the England senior squad too, and that season saw him star in the Gunners’ famous 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.

The start of 2011-12 saw him sidelined with a fractured ankle, however, and from there, things began to go a little awry. Although Wilshere still produced some shining moments – winning the 2013-14 Goal of the Season award and scoring a stunning brace for England against Slovenia in 2015 – it felt like he spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch.

Due to his injuries, Wilshere never truly nailed down a starting berth at Arsenal despite having so much talent, and the summer of 2018 saw him move to West Ham when his contract at the Emirates expired.

Unfortunately, injuries have continued to hold him back at the London Stadium, and as of writing, he’s made just a handful of appearances for the Hammers.