Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere can go to the World Cup fully fit for the first time having ‘never been right’ for England

Jack Wilshere stands on the brink of the final stage in his rehabilitation for club and country.

Having begun the season surplus to requirements at Arsenal, the 26-year-old chose to stay and fight for his first-team place, graduating from the EFL Cup and Europa League team – when Europe’s second tier competition was merely a sideshow – to become a key figure at the club again.

Wilshere has made 31 appearances for Arsenal this season. Only Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin and Petr Cech have made more. In doing so, he won over England manager Gareth Southgate, who questioned his durability in November but finally recalled him in March ahead of games against Holland and Italy in which he is certain to play some part.

Wilshere has not featured for England since entering the fray at half-time in that dreadful Euro 2016 exit to Iceland. He has unfinished business at this level, to say the least.

The midfielder arrived in France with just 141 minutes under his belt after missing almost all of the domestic campaign with a broken leg. Three friendly appearances followed but he was unable to give his best.

It is a familiar story. His preparation for the 2014 tournament in Brazil was heavily disrupted after sitting out the last two months of the season with a fractured foot. A stress fracture to his right ankle ruled him out of Euro 2012 altogether.

Finally, should he complete the task of convincing Southgate to hand him a seat on the plane to Russia, Wilshere is in a place to give his all.

“I’ve never been right in terms of fitness at a tournament,” he told Standard Sport. “You feel like you are but looking back I didn’t really feel like I could have any influence when called upon for the team.

“At the Euros, if you’d asked me then, I’d have said I was 100 per cent fit and could help the team but looking back, I probably wasn’t as fit as I could have been. I played three games and a couple of friendlies but I didn’t have that whole season under my belt like now.

“It was big ask but I was desperate to go. I was thankful to Roy [Hodgson] and his staff for picking me but when I missed out on the first few games, I wasn’t happy but looking back it was probably the right decision. It was the same story in 2014 and in 2012 I had no chance. I hope this time it will be different, if I get the chance to go.”

Wilshere’s current contract expires at the end of the season and although regular dialogue continues between player and club, an agreement is yet to be reached. It is a testament to how far he has come that his representatives now have at least a degree of leverage in those talks after a season in which he may have put longstanding fitness doubts behind him.

“I’ve not been bothered about people tackling me,” he explains. “It is more that if I overran the ball, I’d go into a tackle I’ve got little chance of winning and try to get it back. I’ve talked with coaches about it and tried to stop. That comes with maturity and understanding the game.

“If I lose it, I’ve learned it is not always best to try and win it back straight away – you can drop off and be a bit more patient. If I have to put my foot it, I’m not afraid to do that. That comes with growing up.”

The question of where he fits into Southgate’s plans now arises. He has been something of a positional nomad at Arsenal, operating in an advanced position off the left in Arsene Wenger’s 3-4-2-1 system aired initially in the Europa League, before playing as a No10 and more recently in a deeper role alongside Xhaka as part of a 4-2-3-1 shape.

Wenger had to be convinced of Wilshere’s defensive qualities and it is curious twist in his development that England identified those traits before Arsenal did, deploying Wilshere at the base of a midfield diamond for a crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland in 2014.

“It was Gary Neville who first said to me about playing as a deeper midfielder and even I was like ‘What are you talking about?’,” admitted Wilshere.

“He explained it and I really enjoyed playing there for England. It worked quite well. At that stage, the way the England team was set up, OK of course I had to defend - I was the last midfielder – but there wasn’t that sole responsibility on defending.

“As I’ve got older, I’ve got better and Bournemouth helped me with the defensive side of my game and understanding that side of midfield.