Luton Town boss Jack Wilshere has revealed he’s delighted to be working with on-loan winger Gideon Kodua — despite the fact that the West Ham United youngster once “broke his heart” in a cup final.

The 21-year-old attacker famously starred for West Ham’s U18s in their 2023 FA Youth Cup triumph over Wilshere’s Arsenal U18s at the Emirates Stadium, in front of more than 34,000 fans. That night, Kodua captained the young Hammers and played a pivotal role, scoring a stunning long-range chip in a 5–1 victory that denied Wilshere his first piece of silverware as a youth coach.

Arsenal, featuring the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and current Luton defender Reuell Walters, had taken an early lead through Omari Benjamin. But goals from George Earthy and Callum Marshall turned the game around — the latter finishing off Kodua’s inch-perfect cross — before the captain himself produced a moment of brilliance from 35 yards to make it 3–1. Kaelan Casey and Josh Briggs added late goals to seal West Ham’s first Youth Cup win since 1999, leaving Wilshere’s young Gunners heartbroken.

Now, two years on, the pair find themselves on the same side. Kodua joined Luton on loan under former manager Matt Bloomfield — their third working spell together after two previous stints at Wycombe Wanderers, where the forward scored three goals in 25 appearances last season. This term, he has already featured 12 times for the Hatters and was named in Wilshere’s starting lineup against Mansfield Town last weekend, going close to scoring in the first half.

Speaking ahead of that match, Wilshere couldn’t help but joke about their shared history:
“I told him when he arrived, ‘I don’t want to talk about you — you broke my heart!’” he laughed. “The first time I met him here, he was a bit shy, and I reminded him what he did to me in that final. He started laughing.”

The Luton boss added that he’s followed Kodua’s progress closely ever since that night at the Emirates:
“When someone hurts you like that, you tend to keep an eye on them,” Wilshere admitted. “He had an interesting season last year, and now it’s a big one for him. He’s got the talent — we just need to get him into positions where he can really show it. He’s a very exciting player.”