Liam Brady was a pretty special footballer. The Irishman shone for Arsenal between 1973 and 1980, winning one FA Cup and doing enough to go down as one of their greatest ever players.
He would leave north London for Juventus and lift two Serie A titles during his time in Italy, cementing his status as one of the finest midfielders of his generation. In terms of Irish talent, very few have surpassed what he achieved on a football pitch.
For a player who was held in such high esteem, it's always interesting to learn which footballers caught his eye following his retirement. Brady worked as a manager, youth coach and a pundit after hanging up his boots, and spoke in glowing terms of one young Englishman in 2013, comparing him with some of the finest British talents.
Liam Brady Tipped Jack Wilshere For Special Career
"I think he will be up there with the very, very skilful creative English players"
In the early 2010s, Jack Wilshere burst onto the scene as one of the most exciting footballers on the planet. In 2011, he lifted the PFA Young Player of the Year award but was then struck down by a horror ankle injury.
Further complications kept him sidelined for months as he faced numerous setbacks, but in early 2013, he had just started to find a bit of rhythm again. Speaking to TalkSport (via Daily Mail) after a match against Liverpool, Brady was full of praise for the then 21-year-old:
"We were all a bit nervous - it was 18 months (out injured) - but he has improved with every game and his performance against Liverpool was outstanding."
The former Ireland international then laid his cards on the table, with a bold prediction about what Wilshere could achieve in his career. He tipped him to be one of the best English players of a generation, saying:
"I think he will be up there with the very, very skilful creative English players. In my time it was Glenn Hoddle, (Paul) Gascoigne came after that and then (Wayne) Rooney and I think Wilshere will be in that mix.
"I think he is leading the (Arsenal) team now, his pace is deceptive. He has a funny running style, but he drifts past players, and he's only 21, he's only going to get better."
Jack Wilshere Related
Jack Wilshere Named the One Footballer He'd 'Spend His Last £10' to Watch
Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere named a Barcelona icon as the one footballer he would pay to watch.
Wilshere Viewed Brady as a Role Model
Sadly injuries stopped him from living up to expectations
Arsenal-Jack-Wilshere
It should come as no surprise that Brady was so fond of Wilshere. After all, both left-footed midfielders came through the Arsenal academy to become key men in the Gunners' senior set-up.
What's more, the Irishman played a key role in the Englishman's development as a youngster. Indeed, he worked with the club as Director of the Arsenal Youth Academy, and Wilshere named him as a role model in 2010:
“Liam Brady is my role model. He works with the youth players now and he has always been there in my career. He has helped me a lot and people have said I am a similar player to him.”
Although he would go on to play 34 times for England and win two FA Cups with Arsenal, those early injury issues were a sign of things to come as Wilshere's career arguably peaked as a teenager, with his body letting him down as he got older. He left north London in 2018, and had spells at West Ham, Bournemouth and Danish team AGF, before retiring in 2022 at just 30 years old.