Jack Wilshere has already made his mark on Johannes Hoff Thorup, after joining the Dane’s Norwich City coaching set-up.

The former Arsenal and England midfielder swapped the Gunners Under-18s this week for a first team coach role at Carrow Road.

Thorup believes Wilshere will prove a shrewd addition to help drive the Canaries forward in the Championship.

“Based on the first couple of days here he's a very good fit for us,” he said. “First of all when you recruit, you sit down together, and then you make a list of what is it actually we need and what is it we want?

"And from there, when that is crystal clear, we start working out, ‘Okay, who's the actual candidates when we look at this list?', and he was one of the first for us to mention, because with what we're trying to build here, with the young players but also to have a certain vision of how the game should be played and so on, he fits very well into the club and the environment here.

“He was one of the candidates, more or less from day one, and a lot of meetings with firstly Ben (Knapper) and Neil (Adams) and then after that, Glen (Riddersholm) and I, and then we took the decision after some weeks, and maybe for him some days of thinking. We are happy to have him in the building, because he will add that quality.

"He's a coach who has been around some of the best coaches, but also starting on his own, trying to build something. It's very good to have coaches that have tried to be a coach before at youth level, because then you actually have to do a lot for yourself.

"You have to plan everything, you have to prepare everything, you have to execute it. It's good experience to have. And now I think he's more than ready to take the next step.”

Jack Wilshere has joined Norwich City as a first team coach (Image: PA)

Thorup emerged himself through the youth coaching ranks at FC Nordsjaelland, and likes Wilshere opted to learn his coaching trade at academy level despite his high profile status in the game.

“Some of the better coaches you see out there at the moment are the ones where they've actually taken, I don't know if it's the right word to call it a slow start, but a start where they get to know about the basics,” he said. “How do you prepare a session? How do you execute it? How do you give feedback to players.

"How do you manage to have a team and coaches around where it's not top level and you have to deal with all the other stuff around being a senior head coach, and that will give you experience and make you ready to take the next step. If you plan that well I think you are very well prepared to take that step up to senior level.

"It's not bad for us that he can bring in all his experience, also from playing, because sometimes he can give a different view on the same topic, or maybe approach a player in a different way, which is needed for us and good for us.”

Thorup insists it is not only City’s midfielders who can reap the benefit.

“Not everyone can get that knowledge and teach it to others,” he said. “It's difficult for some but I think because of that career planning that he has made, and because of that experience he now has from youth coaching level, he's used to that. He's used to delivering the message. He's used to telling his ideas to players.

"That's sometimes the most difficult part about it, but he's also there with a lot of experience from the highest level as a player who can really support our midfielders, but also other positions. It's important for us to have that knowledge in the building. If you find the right candidate, it is a good asset.”