Despite sharing the pitch with Adebayor on only two occasions during the 2008/09 campaign, Wilshere revealed that the forward made him feel nervous as a youngster rising through the ranks.
Speaking during a game of Truth or Padel with football journalist David Ornstein, the former Arsenal midfielder was asked to name his most annoying team-mate.
‘I’m going to say [Emmanuel] Adebayor. I was only young when I started playing with him. I was quite confident, but he would make me feel a bit nervous. I could never quite work him out, whether he liked me, whether he didn’t like me. So, I’m going to say him,’ he explained.
Adebayor grabbed the headlines in Wilshere’s competitive debut, scoring a hat-trick as Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers in 2008. At just 16, Wilshere made history by becoming the club’s youngest-ever league debutant at the time.
However, the Togolese forward would go on to become one of the most controversial figures among the Arsenal fanbase.
After leaving the Gunners for Manchester City in 2009, Adebayor made a decision to sprint the full length of the pitch to celebrate directly in front of the Arsenal away supporters after scoring against his former club.
He later revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that racist abuse from Arsenal fans, including a chant targeting his family, had prompted his reaction.
The incident became one of the Premier League’s most iconic moments, but there was more controversy during the match.
Adebayor was handed a three-match ban for his conduct, including an alleged kick to Robin van Persie’s face, slapping Alex Song and attempting to stamp on Cesc Fàbregas.
His career would take some fascinating turns after Manchester City, including a spell at Real Madrid before joining Tottenham Hotspur, in a move that further enraged Arsenal fans.
After spells in Turkey and Paraguay, Adebayor ended his professional career back in Togo in 2023 and has since focused on his own business ventures.
Wilshere is now in charge of League One side Luton Town, where he spent time in the academy as a youngster, and who currently sit in 16th after nine games, after leaving his academy role with Arsenal in 2024.
Interestingly, Adebayor recently returned to the headlines after scoring for ‘North London Legends’ in a charity match in Indonesia, where the team included several Arsenal legends, such as Thierry Henry, Santi Cazorla and Robert Pires.