Arsenal are reportedly interested in bringing Jack Wilshere back to the club as part of their ongoing search for youth coaches.
The Gunners have lost U23s boss Kevin Betsy and U18s coach Dan Micciche in recent weeks. With the former being named as the new head coach at Crawley Town in League Two, while Micciche will serve as his assistant.
It means wholesale changes for the club’s development structure and the Evening Standard report that Wilshere has held talks with academy director Per Mertesacker over the two roles. A number of other candidates are said to be under consideration, with Wilshere set to go up against highly-rated internal candidates.
The former England international is once again without a club, after his short spell at AGF Aarhus came to an end. And Wilshere has admitted that despite being just 30, he is open to retiring from the game and transitioning into his coaching career.
“If a coaching opportunity came up, I wouldn’t be sad to say ‘right that’s it, I’m done with playing’," he explained last month. "I’ve got a big desire to coach and become successful at that. You look at the managers who have been successful in the last five or six years, they started young. So I just think ‘why not?’”
Wilshere added that while his decision hadn’t been fully reached, he would be open to hanging up his boots, with an Arsenal return at the forefront of his plans. He has recent experience working with the Gunners at London Colney, having spent months with both the youth and first-team squads in order to maintain his fitness.
In total, he spent around three months with Mikel Arteta’s staff and the Spaniard was left in no doubt about his coaching credentials. After leaving for Denmark, Arteta was asked about a return in a coaching capacity: “100 per cent. Everybody at the club will be willing to open the doors for him and try to find a role for him that can work for everybody,” he said. “I think that will happen naturally in the future.
"It’s been an absolute pleasure to have him back, to enjoy watching him play again and having him around, the inspiration he is for all the young people.”
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During his time joining training sessions, there was some speculation that he could be re-signed as a player, with Arsenal in the midst of a midfield injury crisis. Arteta and Wilshere played alongside each other at the Emirates, but despite their close working relationship, the manager maintained that his old team-mate had a "clear role" at the club, with Wilshere admitting the Spaniard didn't want to sign him.
"Because the manager doesn't want me to. Well, I don't think he does," Wilshere told talkSPORT when quizzed on why he is not an Arsenal player.
Asked if he could still rejoin Arsenal, he responded: "I don't know that. I would love it to be Arsenal. But I am not in control of that." In a separate interview, Wilshere added: “I think I would love to go back to Arsenal and coach, once I have fully made that decision.
“When I went back to Arsenal I was coaching every day with the under-18s and 23s, I loved every minute of it. I really enjoyed being back on the pitch and coaching.”
