Arsenal academy boss Per Mertesacker is full of praise for U18 coach Jack Wilshere.

Ahead of the FA Youth Cup final against West Ham United, Mertesacker concedes he questioned whether the former midfielder would take to coaching.

He told arsenal.com: “I was probably thinking he will not make that transition, but he proved me wrong in that sense. I had a perception about him, playing and being super-talented but probably not fulfilling his potential because of all the injuries.

“But then with him switching to: 'I'm committed, I'm working hard, I'm learning, I'm ready to train with the first-team and coach the academy teams in the evening', that's when I thought 'If he can do that for half a year ...' and he's done that pretty consistently.

“During his interview [for our under-18s head coach role], I was sitting there, Mikel was sitting there, Edu was sitting there. I was praying that Jack would turn up and be himself. That was the moment when the truth comes. It was brilliant to see him presenting himself, what he stands for, what he wants to be like, what coach he wants to be and how he wants to play.

“I'm really pleased with his first year. His ambition naturally is one day to go somewhere and coach a first-team, but I'm not letting him at the moment. I think it's important to be ambitious, but I think he respects the process so much more now."