Jack Wilshere enjoyed Saturday’s friendly against Hitchin Town, despite his under-18s side coming out on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline.
“I loved it,” he said. “We suffered a lot in the first half. We were trying to do things the right way and play out like we do here at Arsenal, and they were aggressive in their press, jumping us all over the place, but we still tried to do it, so I liked that from us.
“Maybe we could have managed those moments a little bit better, but we’re Arsenal and we play a certain way so we have to be able to do that under a little bit more pressure than maybe we’re used to, playing in a stadium with more people watching us.
“Fans are so good for the players and I said to them at half-time that it was my favourite game for them because it’s what they need. This is real football, where players all have the basics. They can run, tackle and pass, but the difference between this level and going to the next one is being able to do that but then adding a little bit more quality.
“It’s a great lesson and even better that we have to go to Hendon on Tuesday and do it all over again.”
Asked for what he has learned personally, now heading into his third season as an under-18s coach, Jack focused on mentality.
“I’ve learned a lot regarding the importance of pre-season,” he explained. “It’s about fitness, mentality and being able to push players to places they might not think they can get to and have never been before. They have to suffer, dig deep and put pressure on themselves to want it. They’ve done that really well.
“I want us to improve our mentality wit the way we approach training as a team and keep pushing. The importance of consistency and reviewing if we can go again is the biggest positive for me.”
The Under-18s Premier League season begins away to Weest Ham United on Saturday, August 11, and Jack can’t wait to get going.
“I’m excited about this team,” he said. “What we did last year towards the end of the season, integrating the under-16s, now they’re first years so they’re a bit further ahead. Can we do that again at the start of this season with a really promising 16s group? It’s important because sometimes you might think you’re going to bed yourself in, but if you have someone pushing yourself up from underneath, you have to be there and perform every day.
“We have to keep that culture in the environment. It’s a big responsibility to the players when they go on the pitch. We’ll prepare everything they need, but all we’re doing is giving them an opportunity and they have to go and take it.”
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