Laura Woods details Arteta chat and Arsenal boss’ view on Wilshere

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reviews the West Ham game

Presenter Laura Woods opened up on a recent conversation she had with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta at a private dinner, including the Spaniard’s strong stance on Gunners coach Jack Wilshere. The ex-playmaker retired last year at the age of 30, having failed to recapture the high standards set in the early stages of his career and has since taken up a post at his boyhood club as head coach of the under-18s.

Woods, speaking on talkSPORT, was explaining that she recently sat next to Arteta for a dinner at the Emirates as part of an annual event for the diamond club – a private members club at the stadium. After suggesting that the Arsenal head coach should attend a darts event as he could go incognito, she detailed that he has big expectations of next season’s Champions League.

“I went to the diamond club last night,” said Woods. “At the Emirates, they have this event for the diamond club and the box holders. It’s like an annual event. Mikel Arteta was there – before you go and do the event with the diamond club members, you get to sit down and have like a private dinner with everybody.

“I got to sit next to Mikel Arteta. It was very cool. Exceptional [table manners from Arteta]. He was wonderful and very personable. I said ‘have you got an eye on the Champions League yet? Or do you have to wait until you know it’s there and then start preparing?’

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“He was like ‘no, no, no. We are thinking about it right now. We don’t just want to be a part of the Champions League. We don’t want to make up the numbers. We want them to properly compete’.”

The news that Arteta is planning for the club’s future will be welcomed by supporters, as Rio Ferdinand recently raised fears that he could be poached by Real Madrid. The day that Arteta does leave north London, he may have a successor already at the club in the form of Wilshere.

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Woods revealed that Arteta spoke glowingly about the U18 boss and tipped Wilshere for a managerial job in senior football in the future, but refused to say whether it would be with Arsenal or elsewhere.

“We spoke about Jack Wilshere, who is with the youth team,” Woods added. “He got us to the FA Youth Cup final. I asked him about the qualities of Jack, so ‘do you see a future coach in him?’ And he was glowing about Jack. He was really, really like ‘that’s a coach’.”

Wilshere recently explained that coaching has rekindled his love of the sport, having taken up a role at Arsenal just four days after announcing his retirement. “I love it, honestly,” Wilshere said earlier this month. “It’s given me back the real deep love for football and I didn’t know I’d lost it to be honest. I came back here last year and I was coaching a bit, training a bit.”

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