Former Bolton midfielder Jack Wilshere has announced his retirement from professional football.
The 30-year-old most recently played for Danish Superliga side AGF Aarhus following his release from AFC Bournemouth in 2021. Wilshere made 14 appearances for Wanderers in 2009/10 while on loan from Arsenal.
Wilshere has had a long history of injury issues which have curtailed his professional career having at one stage been one of English football's most exciting prospects. Making 125 appearances for Arsenal, where he came through the youth ranks having joined the club from Luton Town in 2001, Wilshere performed at the highest level with his crowning glory a man of the match performance against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
READ MORE: Watford, Huddersfield and the benefit of Bolton Wanderers' next pre-season tests
Injuries meant that he was unable to find consistency at the Emirates Stadium and after a decade of first-team football with the Gunners, Wilshere finally made a permanent move away from the club to join West Ham United in 2018 having spent time at Bolton and Bournemouth on loan whilst being contracted at Arsenal.
Similar struggles were faced for Wilshere at West Ham and he was released from his contract before signing a short-term deal with Bournemouth who opted against signing the midfielder up on a longer-term deal at the end of the 2021/22 season. Wilshere took to social media to issue a statement confirming the news.
“Today I am announcing my retirement from playing professional football.
“It has been an unbelievable journey filled with so many incredible moments and I feel privileged to have experienced all that I did during my career. From being the little boy kicking a ball around in the garden to captaining my beloved Arsenal and playing for my country at a World Cup. I have lived my dream.
“In truth it has been difficult to accept that my career has been slipping away in recent times due to reasons outside of my control, whilst feeling that I have still had so much to give. Having played at the very highest level I have always held such huge ambitions within the game, and if I am truthful I did not envisage being in this position at times.
“However, having had time to reflect and talk with those closest with me, I know that now is the right time and despite the difficult moments I look back on my career with great pride at what I have achieved. Playing at the very highest level with some of the best players in the world, winning FA Cups, captaining my club and representing my country were beyond my wildest dreams when I was a small boy growing up in Hitchin.”
Don't miss a thing from the club you love! For all the latest updates on Wanderers , sign up to our free newsletter packed with all the latest news here.
