Jack Wilshere Says Emery’s XI Call Ended His Arsenal Stay
Jack Wilshere said Unai Emery telling him he would not be in the starting XI left him with no choice but to leave Arsenal in 2018. The midfielder walked away as a free agent after 17 years at the club, ending a career that had started in the academy at age nine.
“It seemed like it went on for it forever and then as soon as Emery said to me, 'Look, you're not in my starting XI’, I was like, 'Okay, right, I need to leave'. It was very difficult as I said, it felt like Arsenal was my family,” Wilshere said in 2020. That straight answer explained why the final stretch of his Arsenal stay closed so abruptly after a long contract process.
Emery's XI Call
Wilshere’s move came at the end of the 2017/18 season, after he had hoped a resurgence would keep his Arsenal future alive. Instead, Emery replaced Arsene Wenger and made the call that pushed him out, with the midfielder leaving on a free transfer in 2018.
He had first joined Arsenal’s academy aged nine and later became a first-team player under Wenger. Wilshere also won two FA Cup trophies during that spell, which made the exit feel heavier than a normal contract expiry.
Arsenal Family To Free Agent
In 2020, Wilshere described how the talks dragged through the spring, saying, “I felt like it went on forever because the discussions probably started in February and then we got to a point where I was going to sign a contract. I wanted to stay at the club, I love the club, I knew everyone at the club, I felt like it was my family and then Arsene left so that dragged on.”
He added, “They didn't announce Emery for a while and the club was going in a different direction. I had conversations with my dad, my family, my wife, my agent around that time about waiting to see who came in [as manager]. To see if he liked me because of the way the contract was set up.” The uncertainty centered on one manager and one role: whether Wilshere would start or move on.
West Ham Aftermath
Wilshere joined West Ham on a free transfer that summer and spent two seasons there, making 19 appearances in all competitions. He later called leaving Arsenal “a sad time,” and the numbers show how quickly a long association gave way to a short, limited spell elsewhere.
“I was part of Arsenal, it's a massive club and I was a big part of it, it was difficult. It was a sad time to leave and even now I look back and think, 'Yeah, that was a tough time',” he said. For Wilshere, Emery’s line in 2018 did not just change a lineup; it ended a 17-year stay and sent him into the market as a free agent.
