Jack Wilshere has picked out four players in Arsenal 's academy who are able to "do things you can't coach."
Wilshere, 31, retired from professional football last July and has been coaching in the Gunners' youth setup in a bid to work his way up the managerial ladder. The ex-Arsenal midfielder is a product of the club's academy himself and knows exactly what it takes both on and off the pitch to make it at the Emirates.
Now head coach of the Gunners' under-18 side, Wilshere led his fledglings to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Cambridge United in the quarter-finals of FA Youth Cup. Following last Thursday's win, the former West Ham and Bournemouth man spoke to The Athletic and heaped praise on four midfielders who are hoping to follow in his footsteps.
"There are some things that you see from Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Bradley Ibrahim, Jimi Gower — they do things you can't coach," Wilshere hailed. "That's why they're at Arsenal. They need a few things tactically. I like my midfielders to be on the half-turn, play forward and touch forward, dribble if you can.
"We had some moments of brilliance when Myles drives, when Ethan's on the half-turn, when Amario Cozier-Duberry's one-v-one. If we can get more of those then we'll be all right. You see it tonight, even though it was Reuell Walters at centre-back. When you drive forward it just changes the picture."
Lewis-Skelly, 16, is rated highly in north London and is set to sign a new deal with the club after impressing beyond his age level. With three assists in the Youth Cup campaign, despite being primarily a holding midfielder, the England under-17 international has got fans talking.
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There's also 15-year-old Nwaneri, who scored a cracking goal against Cambridge before Polish hotshot Michal Rosiak, a right-back, volleyed home a dramatic winner in added time. Nwaneri is a versatile attacker and boasts two goals as well as three assists in Premier League 2 this season, having become Arsenal's youngest-ever debutant back in September when he came on as a substitute in the 3-0 victory away to Brentford.
Bradley Ibrahim, a defensive-minded midfielder who can also play at centre-back, has already made the bench for two Europa League games this season, both away from home. Finally, Gower is another homegrown playmaker with an eye for goal, netting four times in all competitions this season.
The Gunners evidently trust Wilshere's coaching ability, with him having spent time back at London Colney training base a year ago to keep up his fitness. There, the former fan favourite worked under first-team manager Mikel Arteta, who he's had only good things to say about. "I've never seen first-team training at the level it is now," Wilshere told TalkSPORT in November.
"Even when I was there and under Arsene [Wenger], it's higher now. The demands are more and you’re starting to see the results of that. It's a very complicated playing style and it was always going to take a bit of time for these players to understand it, but the club is in a great place and I think the fans are seeing that, which is the most important."
