Wilshere hoping to recapture best form

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere believes it could take some time for him to get back to his best following a 17-month injury lay-off.

The 20-year-old burst onto the scene for Arsenal two seasons ago, but a stress fracture sustained in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland – and several subsequent setbacks – stunted his progress.

The Stevenage-born star said it had been difficult sitting on the sidelines, but has set his sights on once again becoming a key component of the north London side’s first-team squad.

“I was 19 and just breaking into the footballing world. I’d had a good season and was looking to push on. I don’t think there was a point where I didn’t think I was coming back,” Wilshere said in an interview with The Guardian.

“But you question yourself as to whether you can come back to the level I was at before. Hopefully, I can get back to training well and get back to where I was.

“I’ve missed so much football and I need to train hard to get back to the level where I was. I think I can do it. I feel better and better as the weeks go on. It’s a long season so I need to take it easy a bit but I’m looking forward to the future again now.”

Wilshere managed an hour in Arsenal’s below-par win over Queens Park Rangers just under two weeks ago, before an appearance at Old Trafford was cut short when his mistimed tackle on Manchester United’s Patrice Evra resulted in a red card.

But the midfielder completed his first 90 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday, and is now hoping to help rectify Arsenal’s recent poor form.

“The aim every season is to challenge for the top four and try to win a trophy. It’s no different this year. We know we need to get top four but, of course, we want to push on and see if we can get more. We want to challenge for the Premier League,” Wilshere said.

“We’re a bit far behind now and we really need to step it up. We’ve dropped a few points and we can’t afford to drop any more. We need to get a win at the weekend and get our Premier League season properly started.”