Patience the Key as Jack Wilshere Slowly Getting Back to His Best

When Arsene Wenger splashed the cash on Mesut Ozil way back in August, many wondered what it meant for the future of some of Arsenal's top stars. With such an abundance of midfield options at his disposal, Wenger has spent a large proportion of the season shuffling around to find roles for some of his midfield stars.

After Aaron Ramsey started the season in such sublime form, the Gunners' other young talent was left scratching around for a place in the side—and for some form. It would have seemed bizarre 18 months ago had you said that Jack Wilshere would be overshadowed by Ramsey in terms of form and performances, but that is exactly what has happened.

However, Tuesday's victory over Marseille could represent a key moment in the career of Wilshere. It seems that, by Arsene Wenger using patience to further the progression of one of England's bright young talents, he is starting to reap the benefits.

Wilshere's main problem so far in his Arsenal career has been injury, naturally. So often the Gunners—and England, for that matter—have put so much pressure on him to be their beacon of hope and creativity, that he has not been able to keep up with the demands.

His start to this season hadn't exactly been superb, either. In the headlines for the wrong reasons after being caught smoking, Wenger gave him a scathing dressing down in the media, labeling it "unacceptable".

Another injury followed, and all of a sudden, Wilshere found himself chasing the leading pack of midfielders at the club. Wenger chose to remain patient though, and ease Wilshere back into action slowly, but surely. Although he played twice for England in their friendlies against Chile and Germany last week, he only appeared for less than an hour across the two games.

He wasn't rushed back into action with the Gunners, either. Last season, Wenger would have had no option but to throw Wilshere in at the deep end in a crunch clash against Manchester United. However, he played for just half an hour during the recent 1-0 defeat—an indicator that Wenger's strength in depth has given him the opportunity to get Wilshere fully fit.

That cautious approach appeared to pay off on Tuesday night, when Wilshere stole the show with a man-of-the-match performance. It was the first time he has scored two goals in a game in his career—and he was operating from the right side of midfield. Could that be the future for club and country?

Whatever the role, there is no doubt Wilshere is still the shining ray of hope to many England fans moving forward. Arsenal fans will also still reserve that feeling towards the 21-year-old—and Arsene Wenger may just have solved the formula of how to get the best out of him.