Arsene Wenger has claimed that Jack Wilshere is working hard behind the scenes to revive his Arsenal career.
The England international spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, but a permanent move never came to pass after the midfielder fractured a bone in his leg towards the closing stages of the campaign.
The 25-year-old has since recovered, but is yet to make a Premier League appearance for Arsenal this season, and has so far been limited to a 22-minute spell in the Gunners' 3-1 win over FC Koln in the Europa League.
Ahead of this evening's EFL Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers, Wenger revealed that Wilshere is edging closer to hitting top form.
"If you ask me, 'Is he back to his full, 100 per cent potential?', I would say no, but he's not far away," Goal.com quotes Wenger as saying. The rest now can only be gained by competition. That's why I believe that these kind of games (Europa League and EFL Cup) are very important for Jack at the moment.
"He is focused, he is working hard and he is absolutely determined to get his place back in the team. There is a big fight there, and that's what we want. It's a dream for all of us to see him fulfil his potential.
"I gave Jack his start at 17 years of age. That means I am convinced - you have to be convinced, to play a boy at 17 years of age, that he is a special player. He is a special player, but we are all the same in that you need health to work. I need health to work and a football player needs to be healthy to play."
Wilshere has started just 29 Premier League games for Arsenal since the 2013-14 season.
Danielle Joynson
