page_title: Jack Wilshere
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Jack Wilshere / Club career / Arsenal / Early career
caption_attribution_description: Jack Wilshere at Arsenal's pre-season friendly against Barnet F.C. at Underhill, Barnet, London. This file has been extracted from another file: Andrei Arshavin Jack Wilshere 2009.jpg
context_page_description: Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club West Ham United and the England national team.
  Wilshere came up through Arsenal's youth academy and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut in 2008, becoming Arsenal's youngest ever league debutant at the age of 16 years, 256 days. Wilshere has earned a number of accolades including the PFA Young Player of the Year award, selection to the 2010–11 PFA Team of the Year, and Arsenal's Player of the Season award, as voted for by fans for his performances in his first full campaign for Arsenal during the 2010–11 season.
  Wilshere is an England international, having previously represented his country at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his debut for the senior team against Hungary at the age of 18 years and 222 days, making him the 12th youngest debutant in England's history.
context_section_description: Wilshere joined the Arsenal Academy in October 2001 at the age of nine, after a short spell in the Luton Town youth programme. He rose through the ranks, and at the age of 15 was named the captain of the under-16s; he also made a few appearances for the under-18s. In the summer of 2007, Wilshere featured in the Champions Youth Cup in Malaysia and upon his return to England, Arsenal Academy coach Steve Bould gave him a start for the under-18s first match against the Chelsea under-18 team. He scored his first goal against Aston Villa under-18s in a 4–1 win. He then scored a hat-trick against Watford under-18s, helping his side to an Academy Group A title. He finished his first full season with the under-18s with 13 goals in 18 appearances, most of which coming at age 15.
  In February 2008, he made his debut for Arsenal Reserves aged 16 against Reading, and scored Arsenal's only goal of the match, which ended in a draw. He scored a memorable goal against West Ham reserves in March, picking the ball up and curling a shot into the top left corner under the watching eye of first-team manager Arsène Wenger. He managed to record two goals and two assists in just three appearances for the reserves at the end of the 2007–08 season. He played in the under-16s victory in the Ferroli Cup, being named as player of the tournament. He played an important role in Arsenal's 2009 FA Youth Cup win, scoring goals in the semi-final and producing a man-of-the-match display in the first leg of the final against Liverpool, assisting two goals and scoring himself.
  Wenger gave Wilshere a place in Arsenal's first-team squad for the 2008–09 season, and he was given the number 19 shirt. He made his competitive debut in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in September 2008, as an 84th-minute substitute for Robin van Persie. At the age of 16 years and 256 days, he was Arsenal's youngest-ever league debutant, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas. Ten days later, on 23 September, Wilshere scored his first competitive Arsenal goal in a 6–0 victory against Sheffield United in the League Cup. On 25 November 2008, Wilshere came on as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League match against Dynamo Kyiv, becoming the fifth sixteen-year-old to ever play in the competition. In January 2009 Wilshere signed his first professional contract, extending it in July the same year.
  In the preparation for the 2009–10 season, Wilshere scored twice and was twice awarded Man of the Match as Arsenal regained the friendly tournament, the Emirates Cup. On 22 September 2009, he started for Arsenal in their 2–0 League Cup win over West Bromwich Albion. In the 37th minute of the match, he was involved in a controversial incident with Jerome Thomas as Thomas pushed Wilshere's face and was shown a red card.
  On 29 January 2010, Wilshere joined Premier League side Bolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season. He made his first league start in the away match at Manchester City on 9 February, and scored his first Bolton goal, his first in the Premier League, on 6 March 2010 in the 2–1 victory at West Ham United. He impressed at Bolton and they tried, unsuccessfully, to sign him on loan for another season.
caption: Wilshere playing for Arsenal in 2009
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