It was, as Jack Wilshere readily admits, a “life-changing” loan spell.
Our No 10 spent the majority of last season at Bournemouth, playing 27 times - the most appearances he’s made in any campaign since 2013/14 - and has fond memories of his time on the south coast.
“It was a good year,” he told the Arsenal Magazine. “I really enjoyed it. I've got some good friends in Bournemouth, the manager was great for me.
“I think it was good for me as a player and a person to experience that because I’ve always been at Arsenal. Arsenal is a top, top club where most of the time you’re in possession of the ball and of course you have to work on the defensive side, but it’s sort of the other way around at Bournemouth.
“A lot of the time, especially when we were playing the top teams, we didn’t have the ball and it improved me defensively and made me understand that side of the game a lot more.
“Off the pitch as well it was different, because it happened so quickly. It was something like the August 29 when I had a conversation with the boss and he said ‘yeah you can go’. It just happened really quickly and it was life-changing.
“I mean I had to move house. I went and lived in a hotel for a couple of weeks down in Bournemouth until I got a place, but as we settled in, the club and the players were great.
“They’re great lads, it’s almost like a family and they welcomed me in from the first day. Obviously I knew Benik already, but it was nice, it’s a nice town a nice place to live, by the seaside, the kids loved it and I had a good year.”
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