Wilshere: How I Explained To My Son That His Father Is Unemployed

Jack Wilshere (Instagram @jackwilshere)

JAKARTA - Despite playing 34 times for England, and starting at Arsenal for several seasons, Jack Wilshere cannot understand why he has not attracted interest from any club.

The 29-year-old midfielder had trained with Serie B side Como 1907 but was unable to feature for them due to non-European player regulations. In August, Wilshere expressed his frustration about what he was going through at the moment.

"My kids are at an age where they understand," Wilshere told Athletic.

"Especially Archie, who is nine years old. He's actually talking to me, saying, 'What about MLS?' or 'Why don't you play in La Liga?'

"He loves football. He knows everything about football. And it's hard to explain to him. He would say to me, 'Why doesn't any club want you?' I don't know, but how do I explain that to him?

"They have friends at school and you know what kids are like, they can be pretty brutal. 'Why isn't your dad working? Isn't he good enough? Is he not good at football?' Yes, it is difficult."

Wilshere also criticized his compatriots for constantly accusing or mocking him for being injury prone and revealed he would rather find a club to play abroad.

"I've said before that I'm open to going abroad," Wilshere added. “In fact, I might want to go overseas. I want to try something different.

"Get off to a fresh start somewhere where the people, the club, the fans don't think, 'Oh, that's Jack Wilshere. He's going to be injured today', or, 'He's going to play five games and that's it... an investment' .

"I feel a little bit the door in this country has closed for me. I do not know why. Maybe because of the history of injuries and people getting references from various places. I feel it's unfair.

"The last time I had an injury was in January 2020. Everyone was thinking, 'Oh, his ankle, his ankle'. It wasn't my ankle. I had a hernia, which is a standard injury. It was a 10 day injury and then unfortunately lockdown came. But I'm building myself up and have a really good fitness base."