Ex-Arsenal star Jack Wilshere drops retirement hint as he eyes next challenge

Jack Wilshere still has the "bug" to keep on playing but could hang up his boots if the right coaching opportunity arises amid rumours he could retire following his disappointing spell at Danish side AGF Aarhus.

The former Arsenal midfielder made 10 Danish Superliga appearances after signing on a free transfer back in February and helped them stay in the division. However, Wilshere's contract ran out at the end of the season, meaning he is once again without a club for the third time in 18 months.

Wilshere was with Bournemouth for the second half of the 2020/21 season, where he played 17 games as they narrowly missed out on promotion. But he was not offered a new contract and left the club last summer.

Having spent six months training with Arsenal and carrying out media duties on talkSPORT, Wilshere decided to join AGF in February. Fast forward to the end of May and Wilshere has hinted he would be open to retiring if he was offered the right opportunity away from playing, with coaching high on his list.

When asked if he was looking to carry on playing, he told GOAL : "It all depends. Because I've been through so much in the last 18 months in terms of not having a club, I know what that feels like. If a coaching opportunity came up, I wouldn't be sad to say 'right that's it, I'm done with playing'.

"I've got a big desire to coach and become successful at that. You look at the managers who have been successful in the last five or six years, they started young. So I just think 'why not?'"

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Wilshere added: "I have still got that bug [to continue playing], but I have said it so many times that it has to be right. My goal is not to go to a club and then go to Real Madrid or go back to Arsenal. I want to go somewhere and enjoy it, and maybe learn a different culture that'll help me with my coaching as well."

Wilshere was also asked about whether he would move down to League Two. He replied: "I have had this question before and I have also been hammered for saying I don't want to play in the Championship.

"That's not me saying I think I am too good for the Championship. I was in the Championship and I ended up sitting on the bench, and I didn't enjoy it. It is as simple as that. If I am not going to enjoy it, I don't want to play there. So, I probably wouldn't go to League Two because I'd probably end up on the bench there as well."