Wilshere expected back in February, says Wenger

Arsenal are now top of the Premier League table and will be aiming to not let that slip when they take on Newcastle. The Chilean forward has been sidelined after suffering a hamstring problem in the 1-1 draw at Norwich on November 9.

Wenger also revealed that Mathieu Flamini could return to the starting line up after being dropped for the 2 – 0 win against Bournemouth.

The ongoing recovery of Wilshere will go down well at England’s headquarters as well as at the Emirates. “I maintain the end of February, it could be earlier that he will play again”. He will be available again. “Considering you play the Euros on June 10, that is a long way”, Wenger told a news conference ahead of Saturday’s game at home to Newcastle United.

“We can have great solidarity in every game and we have a chance”. The most important thing is to feel, at the end of the season, that we have given absolutely everything to be successful.

Meanwhile, the Frenchman added that he expects to be busy in the January transfer window, as even though he insisted that he couldn’t announce anything yet, he will be desperate to sustain their title push in 2016. “I have already said we are short”.

Rosicky is another player who hasn’t played a single minute of competitive football this season due to a knee injury which he suffered while away on global duty in the summer, but the boss has confirmed the 35-year-old should be back in training in three weeks.

“I believe that we are mature enough and that we have the requested quality to fight and compete”.

“It’s not impossible”, he said when asked if Debuchy might leave the club in January, adding: “I’m happy if he stays but we’ll see”.