Bielik - How Pires and Wilshere helped

Krystian Bielik has revealed how Robert Pires and Jack Wilshere helped him settle in his first few days at Arsenal.

The Poland Under-17 midfielder joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw in January and made seven appearances for the under-21s last season.

Bielik is now fully adjusted to life in north London and ready to start his first full campaign for the Gunners, thanks in part to Pires and Wilshere’s advice.

“When I started I had individual training sessions with Robert Pires,” Bielik told Arsenal.com. “He gave me a lot of advice and helped my regain my fitness because I had been out for so long.

“I also trained with Jack Wilshere who was very nice to me. In my first week I saw some of the best players in the world and that was an amazing experience. Now I see them every day, how they play on the pitch and how they train, and it really helps me.

“Sometimes I speak with Per, who tells me to keep things simple rather than trying to do too much. I will be better for the team if I keep things simple, so that was great advice that he has given me.

“Playing for Arsenal is a dream but I know that I’m here to learn more,” added Bielik. “I want to show everybody that I’m a good player and that I can train with the first team so that one day I can prove that I can play for the first team.”

The 17-year-old is set to feature for Arsenal Under-21s against Fulham on Friday and he is relishing the chance to play at Emirates Stadium again, following the second string’s 4-1 win against Stoke City last season.

“It’s a very nice stadium,” he said. “The pitch is slick and we can play beautiful passing football on it.

“I’m a bit more used to playing in big stadiums than most teenagers because I played for the first team at Legia Warsaw in front of 30,000 fans. But I think my first game for the Arsenal first team will be even more amazing in front of 60,000.”

You can buy tickets to Arsenal Under-21s' fixture against Fulham here