Wilshere relishing being back in Arsenal shirt

The injury-prone midfielder had struggled to cement his place in the Arsenal first-team, even spending last season on loan to Sunday's opponents Bournemouth to improve his fitness. But now the future looks bright for the England international, who has made 20 appearances in all competitions for the 'Gunners' this year, eleven of which have come in the Premier League. 

In addition, he achieved a boyhood dream last Wednesday when he captained Arsene Wenger's side in their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash against Chelsea and hopes to remain at the London club long-term after recent speculation about his future. 

Speaking to the English television channel, the 26-year-old said: "I want to be Arsenal captain. I really enjoyed the other night, it was my first start as captain and walking the boys out was a special feeling for me and my family so that is something that I want to do. I never stopped dreaming about that.

"There was a time last year when Arsenal were playing against Bournemouth at the Vitality where I sat in the crowd watching and thinking 'am I going to go back to Arsenal and play?' but apart from that, I never really thought about not becoming the player everyone thought I would be or not fulfilling my potential."

He went on to say: "I just wanted to prove my fitness at Bournemouth then come back here and try and get into the team. I played the long game and I worked hard. I'm not saying that's over but I'm in the team now and I need to work even harder maybe to keep my place and improve as a player as well."

Regarding his future, the England international declared: "There's not a decision to make in January. I've still got six months left of my contract, I'm an Arsenal player and I'm enjoying playing week in, week out. I've had loads of questions about my future and there's nothing more I can say until something's official and we can concentrate on the future but right now, I'm concentrating on each game as it comes."

Wilshere will hope to feature in Wenger's squad in his first return to the Vitality Stadium since his loan spell with Eddie Howe's side.