Jack Wilshere has revealed Pep Guardiola’s mind games and his 'beef' with Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets when Arsenal played the La Liga giants in 2011.
The Gunners faced the Blaugrana in the round of 16 in the Champions League, where a young Wilshere’s performance in the first leg stole the headlines.
It wasn’t just that though, as Arsenal took a 2-1 win at the Emirates in a memorable night for everyone associated with the club.
Goals from Robin van Persie and Andriy Arshavin cemented the victory, though a trip to the Nou Camp in the second leg was to come shortly after.
A 19-year-old Wilshere was up against one of the most fearsome midfields in world football, with Busquets, Andreas Iniesta and Xavi all playing for the visitors.
Speaking to the official Arsenal website about the game, the midfielder said: “We knew we had to get in their faces, be a bit nasty and stop them playing.”
They did exactly that, but unfortunately they couldn’t do the same in the reverse leg as they fell to a 3-1 defeat in Catalonia.
Wilshere still recalls his memories of the clashes, discussing Guardiola, Busquets and the second leg on TalkSPORT.
The midfielder said: “I had a little bit of beef with Busquets. You know what he was like, great player, one of the best.
“But if you touched him he’d go down. He did it about five times to me and in the end I just snapped.
“I can’t repeat what I said! There’s a picture of him in my face and he weren’t happy.
“He was probably thinking, ‘Who’s this little kid telling me?'”
Guardiola then after the game said there were “many Spanish players” like Wilshere, in what the former Arsenal man thought was an attempt at mind games.
He continued: “It was just mind games in the second leg. We then got robbed and Van Persie got sent off for kicking the ball after eight seconds.
“Arsene was fuming and I’ve never seen him like that.”
The Gunners came so close to glory yet fell just short at the final hurdle, however the heroics of that first leg in the Emirates will long live in the memory.
Wilshere’s performance will still be remembered, especially given the promise he showed in the game at just 19-years-old.
