Wilshere wants to emulate Gerrard

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has spoken of his admiration for Liverpool star Steven Gerrard.

A day after being labelled a ‘complete midfielder’ by Arsene Wenger, the 21-year-old said he is still learning from his role model, despite already being an Arsenal and England regular.

“Steven is a great role model,” he told reporters. “He has been the heartbeat of Liverpool for years.

“He has also been the stand-out performer for England as well. He is a great role model for me.

“If I can get anywhere near as good as him and drive the team forward like he does, then I will be happy.

“He was someone I looked up to when I was younger. He has 100 caps for England. For any young midfielder he is someone to base your game on and try to be like him.”

Wilshere’s late goal against Swansea spared Arsenal extra-time in their FA Cup replay, and he compared his winner to Gerrard’s in the FA Cup final in 2006 against West Ham.

“He is a great player, I think I’m a bit different,” he said of Gerrard. “His long passing is better than mine.

“But I do remember him scoring a similar goal to mine in the FA Cup Final against West Ham and the Champions League game against Olympiakos.

“We want to win the FA Cup. We’ve won it in the past and it is the last trophy we won. So we know what it means to the fans.”