Arsenal academy director Liam Brady was on TalkSports Keys and Gray this morning and he said that Jack Wilshere will be classed in the same bracket as England legends Paul Gascoigne and Glenn Hoddle when his career finishes.
The 21-year-old has struggled with injuries in recent seasons but is now back playing for Arsenal, and is set to line-up for the Three Lions in the friendly match against Brazil on Wednesday night.
And Brady, who brought the youngster to the Gunners in his role as Head of Youth Development at the Emirates, claims Wilshere could become one of this country’s best ever players.
“He’s one of the best England players around,” he told Keys and Gray “He will play an enormous amount of games for his country. Everyone was nervous about his comeback but he has improved every game, and against Liverpool he was outstanding.
“He’ll be up there with the most skilful players England have ever had. People like Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney. Jack Wilshere will be in with those sort of players.
“He’s a leader. When you watch Arsenal, they give him the ball to make things happen. He’s leading the team now.”
Brady also had some advice for Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after the keepers’s erratic performance against Liverpool.
“I told him: ‘Don’t go looking for trouble, don’t come charging out of the goal’,” Brady added.
“I played with two of the very best goalkeepers in Pat Jennings and Dino Zoff.
“He probably hadn’t heard of him but I told him to Google them and watch them – they didn’t go looking for trouble, they just dealt with the trouble when it arrived.”
The whole interview is available here. Well worth a listen on the growing importance of the academy to a football club.