Jack Wilshere has been a part of Arsenal Football Club since he was nine years old and he made his first team debut when he was just 16-years old, breaking the club record. This season will be his 8th in the first team, even though he has yet to appear this time and also missed the whole of the 2011-12 campaign with injury, so Jack has seen a lot of Arsenal title challenges and is well qualified to judge how well the current season is going compared to the seven before.
The 24-year old has been speaking to Arsenal Player about this and about his imminent comeback from another spell in the Arsenal treatment room. The England star is clearly desperate to be back and not just in order to get his fitness and form going before the international Euro 2016 tournament this summer. No, the midfielder clearly believes that the current crop of Gunners has matured and improved and with the addition of Petr Cech to steady the ship at the back he feels that we are now much more capable of becoming champions of England.
Wilshere said, “We’ve had a strong season and we’re in a position this year where we can really go for it.
“In the past we’ve struggled around Christmas and before we’ve given ourselves no chance really, but this year we’re [close to the top] with important players coming back. Hopefully they can help us.
“We’ve added a world-class goalkeeper and he’s been massive for us with his experience. Apart from that, the team’s the same and I think a big part of [us challenging] is because we’ve been together for a few years and the younger British players have started to mature a bit and that’s really helped.
“[My recovery is] going well. I’m back on the pitch and I’m just trying to build my fitness up because everyone knows how tough it is to play in the Premier League. I’m working on it and I’m slowly getting there.
“Sometimes it’s been difficult to stay positive, especially after the injuries that I’ve had which have been frustrating, but as the injury goes, you get closer to full fitness and you see the light at the end of the tunnel, then you start to think about coming back and getting involved in the team.”
With our title challenge having hit problems recently we could really do with Jack back as soon as possible and I’m sure he wants to get involved before it is too late and the chance has slipped away again. But will he be back in time?