Wenger: If Wilshere stays fit he can shine

ARSENE WENGER believes Jack Wilshere can still have a big future for Arsenal and England if he stays fit between now and December. Wilshere suffered a fractured leg in April while on loan at Bournemouth, but he has impressed on his return for Arsenal, starring in the club’s 4-2 victory over BATE Borisov in the Europa League. Wilshere’s Arsenal contract runs out at the end of the season and Wenger claims that this campaign is ‘vital’ for the midfielder if he wants to revitalise his career. The Arsenal manager told beIN Sports: ‘He needs to keep his health and be capable of competing. ‘If he can play from now until December at the top level, he will be back. If he has other setbacks then it will be more difficult. ‘It’s a vital season because he’s nearing the end of his contract, it’s a World Cup year and he has been an Arsenal player since he was a kid. ‘So, all that’s at stake for him and for us as well because you’d love a player of that quality to come back.’ Wilshere will be hoping for a run of games in Arsenal’s first team following the international break, particularly if he is to have a chance of making England’s World Cup squad next summer. The 25-year-old told Arsenal’s website: ‘I always hear the boss say it is my first five-metre burst, when I receive the ball and to get away from defenders, and I feel that’s getting better and better each day. ‘I feel like the way to improve that is in games, when you’re playing against opposition that want to win and want to win the ball back and you have to be able to keep the ball. ‘That’s coming back and my fitness levels are probably the best they’ve ever been.’