Arsenal fans loved Cazorla and Wilshere recalls the 'joy' of seeing him up close

The midfielder once boasted Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie and Mesut Ozil as teammates - but none of them are the best he's played alongside.

That honour goes to Santi Cazorla, who Wilshere describes as a 'joy to watch' despite his height.

When asked who the best player he played with is, Wilshere told talkSPORT: Edge: "He could use both feet, he was only 5ft 5ins and he would just run between players and he was a joy to watch."

It's not just Wilshere has the respect of though. Legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who's crossed paths with even more top class players than Wilshere, believes the little Spaniard was a shining light to all young midfielders.

Wenger said in May 2015: "It's because of his technical quality and his intelligence, he's a model to watch.

"If you go out and you watch Cazorla play, you think this is not a player, when you watch him play for Spain, who can specifically be a player for the Premier League.

"He's a fantastic example that no matter how tall you are, it's about how good you are. He's a very intelligent player and he also shows how important it is to be right and left-footed in midfield.

"He's a good example of how we should educate young players who play in midfield to be able to use their right and left foot."

Cazorla, 36, is now winding down his career in Qatar at Al Sadd, but talking of gifted Spanish midfielders, Wilshere also played alongside Cesc Fabregas for many years.

There aren't enough superlatives out there to describe how great Fabregas was - but Wilshere admitted he didn't half like a good moan!

"He always wanted to win," he added.

"He was a winner and in training games, one of the coaches would make a decision and if it was the wrong decision he would hammer them!"