England Midfielder Jack Wilshere Is Beginning to Deliver on Arsenal Promise

Arsenal have endured a difficult start to the season. They have had to navigate a treacherous fixture list and have consequently struggled to achieve any kind of consistency. However, amid that turbulence, one man is finding the stability he’s been craving. Little by little, game by game, Jack Wilshere is putting together one of the most consistent runs of his career.

Crucially, he’s fit. Wilshere’s biggest problem has always been his susceptibility to injury. Thus far this season, he has managed to steer clear of trouble. Against Tottenham, the journalists assembled in the press box winced when replays saw him fall on his vulnerable ankle. However, he went on to finish the game and was in the squad for the next match against Galatasaray. This Wilshere appears more robust than the one we saw last season.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Arsene Wenger deserves credit for managing him intelligently too. Wilshere’s initial injury problems stemmed, in part, from Arsenal’s reliance on a player who wasn’t ready for that level of responsibility or regularity of football. Wenger seems to have learned from that experience and is willing to take Wilshere out of the firing line occasionally.

The consequence has been a marked improvement in Wilshere’s performances. Speaking to Arsenal's official website (h/t Goal.com), Wilshere said of his own game:

"

I said at the start of the season that it was going to take some time to get back to my best. Ever since my first injury, it's always taken a run of games—probably between five and 10—to get back to my best.

Some players are different, some players come back and are at their best straight away. But some need a run of games and I'm one of those players.

"

It’s a fair assessment. Wilshere has already made his mark on a big game this season, scoring a superb goal and delivering a Man of the Match performance against Manchester City. At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, he was one of the Arsenal players who looked most likely to offer the Gunners a lifeline. Had he not been let down by a heavy touch inside the penalty area, he might even have got himself another goal.

Wilshere did not let the mistake get to him. His game is characterised by courage. Off the ball, he throws himself into challenges against opposition players who tower above him. On the ball, he is prepared to take risks and invite lunges from his markers. A palpable bravado is returning to his play. He has regained that crucial capacity to accelerate away from the opposition at the last possible moment. In possession, he is always determined to force the issue.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Much has been spoken about the way in which Mesut Ozil has been shunted wide by Wenger; little has been said about the fact it is Wilshere’s resurgence that has forced the Arsenal manager to make that call. At present, he deems the Englishman a more reliable force at No. 10.

Wilshere goes off for England duty this week and could be asked to reprise the holding role he performed against Switzerland in the last international break. Against a team like San Marino, he’s bound to get plenty of possession at the base of the midfield.

However, such a restricted role seems a waste of Wilshere’s attacking talent. As his recent Arsenal form shows, he has so much more to give. Excitingly, this is only the start of Wilshere’s long journey back to his brilliant best.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2014/15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.