Having broken into the first team at just 16, Jack Wilshere has the air of an Arsenal veteran such is the depth of his experience.
Yet he is still only 25, but he says that everything he has gone through over the course of his career has helped him mature both on and off the pitch.
“I think [I have changed],” Wilshere told the Arsenal Magazine. “I’m married now and I’ve got two kids, I’m 25.
“Since I was 18, 19 you do a lot of growing up. People say to you when you’re 21, 22 that you’ll grow up a lot in the next few years and you’re just like ‘Nah, no chance’. But then, when you look back, you were doing things at 21 that you wouldn’t think about doing now.
“So I think I’ve changed, I’ve grown up. I’ve got a wife, two kids and I’m getting older now.
“As you get older, you appreciate what you’ve got and your game time, your minutes and that you’re fit. Not just fit and playing, because I’m fit at the minute, and I’m not necessarily playing but I’m happy and I’m available for selection and that’s all you can ask for.
“There are going to be times in your career when you’re injured, you’re going to miss out on things and you have to use those moments and those hours in the gym as motivation for when you’re back to want to stay there.”
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