Still only 34 years of age, former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere is already a year into his spell as Luton Town manager. The Englishman took charge last October with the team 11th in League One.

He guided Luton to a seventh-placed finish in the league and also achieved his first title as coach by winning the EFL Trophy. Now into his second campaign with the club, Wilshere has recently caused some headlines with his behaviour on the touchline.

It's been a mixed start to the 2026/27 League One season, the third tier of the English football pyramid, for the Bedfordshire club. Now 10 games in, they are 13th, with four wins, four losses and two draws. This gives the team a total of 14 points, although things are congested in the league, with eighth-placed Reading five places above the Hatters, despite only having one point more.

Wilshere Clashes With Barnsley Manager

Having lost their prior game – 2-1 away at MK Dons – Wilshere would have been delighted to instantly get back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Barnsley on Tuesday night. Goals from Mads Juel Anderson and Nahki Wells were enough to see his side go 2-0 up before the break. Makenzie Kirk pulled one back for the away team, but it turned out to be no more than a consolation.

Despite getting the win, the former England international was not at all happy on the sidelines when the full-time whistle blew. Footage caught him in a Thomas Tuchel vs Antonio Conte-style handshake spat with Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel.

The pair shook hands, but Wilshere was very clearly angered by the Tykes boss as he furiously spun around to confront him. He pushed away Stendel and pointed at him accusingly before a small melee broke out, with the pair having to be separated.

After the game, Wilshere was asked about the confrontation, but opted to play things down. He told the press: “They want to win, we want to win, massive respect for what they are trying to do there. I know they have not got the result but I could see what they are trying to do.

“They are a tough team to play against, they have some good players and yeah we got the win in the end.

“It got a bit heated but you shake hands at the end and everyone moves on.”

On that theme, Stendel also appeared keen to move on from the incident, as he said:

“It was a misunderstanding between me and Jack Wilshere. But I tried to talk with him (after the game) and I think it’s not a big thing.”

Wilshere 'Frustrated' By Luton's Inconsistent League One Form

Prior to the game, there has been a feeling among those who watch Luton that the club keep taking one step forward but two steps back this season. Indeed, Wilshere's side are yet to earn back-to-back victories this term.

They looked really good when thrashing Wycombe Wanderers 4-1 at Adams Park, but then fell to a drab 2-1 loss against MK Dons. Ahead of the Barnsley match, Wilshere stated that he was 'frustrated' by his team's inconsistency, but was glad for the chance to immediately put things right, noting:

“I keep saying the good thing about this league is that there’s another game and we can bounce back from it, we shouldn’t have to because we can’t lose this game [vs MK Dons], but the reality is we have."

“The reality is we have to look at it, show the players it, and one thing we know about this group of players is they can bounce back and they need to do that. So we’ll do that, we’ll prepare the players in the best possible way and try and get a result on Tuesday. We should win the game, the frustration was is took that long to get back in the game in the second half, as they didn’t do that much.”

Having since beaten Barnsley, he'll hope his side can finally get two wins on the bounce when Luton host Leicester Town this Saturday.