Jack Wilshere Brands Alexis Sánchez Biggest Moaner He Played With

Jack Wilshere and Alexis Sánchez shared the pitch at Arsenal for just two years, but it was long enough for the Chilean to earn a reputation as the biggest moaner Wilshere has ever played alongside.

Wilshere had a 17-year stay at north London, spanning from his arrival as a nine-year-old academy youngster until his contract expiration made him a free agent in 2018.

The England international featured in just 197 matches for the Gunners over his ten-year stint in the first-team setup, with injuries and loan moves to Bolton Wanderers and Bournemouth hampering his availability in red and white.

Just four days after his retirement in 2022, following stints at West Ham United, Bournemouth and Danish side AGF, Wilshere was announced as the new head coach of the Arsenal under-18 side.

The then-32-year-old left the Hale End setup in 2024 to work as a first-team coach at Norwich, where he was named interim manager for two games the following year before he departed to take on a permanent managerial position at Luton Town.  

Wilshere, who is approaching his first anniversary at Luton after lifting the EFL Trophy last season, made the revelation during an appearance on The Overlap’s Stick to Football earlier this week.

When asked by former Manchester United defender Gary Neville on the biggest moaner has has played alongside, the Englishman showed little hesitation in naming Sánchez.

He explained, ‘If we were doing a light day, he would want to do a hard day. If we were doing a hard day, he would want to do a light day!’

Former Gunner Alex Iwobi has previously revealed that the Chile international had a ‘love-hate’ relationship with boss Arsène Wenger during his three-and-a-half years at Arsenal, speaking in an interview with Soccer AM.

Iwobi continued that Sánchez's behaviour would sometimes see the French manager ‘telling him off’, but added that the feeling was love ‘more of the time’.

In January 2018, Sánchez completed a shock move to Manchester United after failing to reach contract renewal terms in north London, in a deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan make the switch the other way.

Sánchez came to later regret the transfer though, admitting later that he asked his agent to return to The Emirates after just one training session with José Mourinho's outfit. 

Wilshere admitted that he was unsure why the move didn't work out, but reflected that 'someone like him would have to change for Mourinho, and he had a lot of freedom at Arsenal'. 

He added that because the winger had the quality to win games for the Gunners, 'we would allow it a little bit', but doubted that his attitude would have been tolerated on the red side of Manchester.

The winger scored 80 goals in 166 appearances for Arsenal, including a goal in each of the two FA Cup finals that he reached donning the club's colours.

Whilst his agents laughed when he requested to rip up his Manchester United contract and return to north London, Sánchez has instead enjoyed periods at five clubs in six years since leaving Old Trafford, making his latest switch to Canadian outfit CF Montréal this summer.