Arsène Wenger believes Jack Wilshere needs more playing time before he will be 100 percent, with the midfielder expected to feature against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

Wilshere is widely expected to start and is sure to have some sort of involvement in the game as Wenger confirmed during his pre-match press conference. Giving an update on the 25-year-old’s current progress to Arsenal.com, the manager added: “Jack has been consistent in training.

“If you ask me is he back to his full, 100 per cent potential, I would say no, but he’s not far away. The rest now can only be gained by competition. That’s why I believe that these kind of games are very important for Jack at the moment.

“Jack has gone through some tough times so he has that density, that fitness now of a man who knows that life is not only easy. You have as well to go through some difficult periods and he has always had a football brain. Jack understands football very well, but I would say he’s a much more mature man today.

“He is focused, he is working hard and he is absolutely determined to get his place back in the team. There is a big fight there and that’s what we want.”

In my opinion, Wilshere has looked ready to fight for a chance whenever we’ve seen him on the pitch recently. For the youth teams, he ran the show, until a rush of blood to the head after a bad challenge on him saw him sent off.

Then against FC Köln, Wilshere gave us a preview of the fast-paced one-touch football we’ve been missing at times in his absence. I believe a game against Doncaster Rovers should be useful for bridging the gap between youth games/substitute appearances and starting Premier League matches again.

Ramsey and Xhaka put in a good big-game performance against Chelsea on Sunday, so the pressure is back on Wilshere to show that he deserves more playing time. Wenger thinks the playmaker is ready to deal with that kind of expectation, saying: “Jack deals with the pressure very well.

“He always had that from a very young age but I would say that overall he is more patient now.” I think Wilshere might need to be patient if he wants to have a starting spot again, but if he continues to take the opportunities he’s given then there’s no reason why he can’t get one.