Jack Wilshere laughs when he’s asked whether he’s brought out a lightbulb during any of his pre-match team talks this season. “No, but I have done some quirky things which I won’t tell you,” replies Arsenal’s Under-18s boss.
The lightbulb question is of course in reference to Mikel Arteta, who was shown on Amazon’s 'All or Nothing' documentary last season using the prop during a pep talk to his players before a home game against Brighton.
It was a motivational approach that divided opinion, but it’s one that Wilshere can fully get behind.
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“When I was coming through there wasn’t really that side of coaching,” he says. “Arsene [Wenger] never brought a lightbulb through or played music before a game – but part of me feels it’s genius.
“With this generation, with Instagram, they’re looking at motivational videos and things to get them motivated all the time. I think it works and Mikel has done a great job at dipping into different things and building around that.
“With the lightbulb he was talking about connecting and building different energy and the fans. What he’s trying to say is make sure you show the fans you’ve got energy, fight and passion. That’s how I see it.
“How you get that across to the players is a big part of it. The basics of being passionate, having pride, if you go into a duel winning a duel, that’s important because it brings the fans with you. So the idea is to bring energy.”