The more you see of Jack Wilshere, the more admirable he becomes. He seems to have taken wholeheartedly to fatherhood, a path he embarked on when he was barely out of short trousers. And then there’s the agreeably relaxed way he was toking on a Marlboro Light outside a London nightclub the other day. It bought a nuclear storm on the poor lad’s head, of course — quite why is beyond me. There’s no suggestion he’s a chain-smoker, unlike the great Brazilian Socrates, who did about 40 a day and won the World Cup. He, of course, was a doctor. Young Jack did the smoking community no favours by initially claiming he was holding the fag for someone else, though he later came clean. It turned out that Arsène Wenger, who was particularly pompous about Marlborogate, had offered Jack ‘support’. Good grief — it was just a fag, not a needle full of smack.
Roger Alton
Adnan Januzaj should not pull on the Three Lions
Playing for England depends on who you are, where you learned your sport — and how you sound
issue 19 October 2013
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