Injury-Bedevilled Wilshere Announces Retirement From Football At Age 30

Once one of English football's most prodigious talents, Wilshere never truly fulfilled his undoubted potential.

His last club was Danish side AGF Aarhus, whom he joined in February but was released this week.

Wilshere came through the Arsenal youth ranks to make 197 appearances for the Gunners, winning two FA Cups.

He also turned out for Bolton Wanderers during his formative years, as well as Bournemouth and West Ham United.

Wilshere won 34 caps for England and played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2016.

"Today I am announcing my retirement from playing professional football. It has been an unbelievable journey filled with so many incredible moments and I feel privileged to experience all that I did during my career," Wilshere wrote on social media.

"From being the little boy kicking a ball around in the garden to captaining my beloved Arsenal and playing for my country at a World Cup. I have lived my dream.

"In truth, it has been difficult to accept that my career has been slipping away in recent times due to reasons outside of my control whilst feeling that I still had so much to give. Having played at the very highest level, I have always held such huge ambitions within the game, and if I am truthful, I did not envisage being in this position at times.

"However, having had time to reflect and talk with those closest to me, I know that now is the right time, and despite the difficult moments, I look back on my career with great pride at what I have achieved.

"Playing at the very highest level with some of the best players in the world, winning FA Cups, captaining my club and representing my country were beyond my wildest dreams when I was a small boy growing up in Hitchin.

"I have enjoyed every moment of my career and it has been the journey of a lifetime. Now is the right time to close this chapter, but I still have so much to give to the game, and I am excited about what the future holds."