Jack Wilshere says he will act as a point of reference for Arsenal starlet Alex Iwobi.

24-year-old Wilshere grew up in the Gunners system and has come through alongside many big names including Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and more recently Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

19-year-old Iwobi is now in the position that Wilshere once was so the talented yet injury-prone midfielder says it is his duty to make sure the promising attacker is taken care of as he continues to develop in a first-team environment.

"Sometimes it's hard for them to ask because they might be a little bit shy," he told the Arsenal weekly podcast.

"They don't really ask you but you feel as though you have a responsibility because you're there, you've been there and you know what they've been through.

"They're coming into a dressing room with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis who are big players, so that can be scary for a young player but Alex is a good kid off the pitch. He wants to learn, he's got the right attitude, puts in the right work in training and when he gets game time he has shown the fans what he can do.

"I don't like to call it mentoring because Alex is 19 so he's not a kid, but I know what it's like for him because I've been there. You almost feel a little bit of responsibility, not to mentor him, but to steer him in the right direction.

"When I first came in, players like Cesc and Samir Nasri were great with me. They put their arm around me and told me how to act. If I didn't play then I would be upset, but they would tell me that I was young and that I would play in the end. I look back to then and, if I can be like they were for Alex, then I will do that."