Jack Wilshere is doing his best to give boss Arsene Wenger a real headache.
That’s because the Arsenal midfielder – fighting fit after his latest injury – wants his Premier League place back.
Incredibly, the England international has been injured for more than 1,000 days in his senior career and has missed 155 games.
But Wilshere, who turns 26 on New Year’s Day, has been outstanding for Wenger’s Gunners in their impressive Europa League run that has taken them into the knockout stages.
Against BATE Borisov on Thursday, Wilshere was almost unplayable.
He scored a stunner in the 6-0 drubbing and ran the show, but now he wants the chance to show it at league level.
Wilshere, who has only made four appearances in the league this season, will probably be on the bench against Southampton today after his midweek exertions.
But he is desperate to be among the first 11 names that his manager reads out – and he would welcome a similar gesture from England boss Gareth Southgate.
“Of course, I think I am good enough,” said Wilshere, who is growing in renewed confidence after each game.
“I felt that, even when I was a 16-year-old and I was with players here who were international players, that I was good enough to be in the team.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, then who is going to believe in you?
“All you do is feel confident in yourself that, if you get the opportunity to get into the team, you will hopefully improve the team. If the opportunity comes this weekend, I’ll be ready.”
He also knows that, with the World Cup next summer, there is another manager he must convince – Southgate.
Wilshere, who has 34 caps, added: “I want to play for my country. I haven’t for a while.
“The manager seems not to favour me, if you like, in that he hasn’t picked me recently. He picked me once and, since then, I have not been in.
“He said he wants me to be playing regularly in the Premier League and, fair enough, that is what I have to do.
“I have been playing in the Europa League and I have felt I have done well.
“If that is not enough, then I have got to get in the Premier League team.
“Until I do that, I am not going to be in his plans. I accept that. And I will try and work hard to get into the Premier League team and, ultimately, into the England team.”
Wilshere is not only playing for his immediate future with Arsenal – but also his long-term one as well.
His contract is up in June and talks about a new deal are due this month.
But for Wilshere, it is not a distraction.
“Nothing else goes through your head when you’re playing, except who you are playing against and what you can do to affect the game,” he said.
“If I am a substitute, I am thinking, ‘What can I do, coming off the bench?’
“You know, sometimes, when I am at home I think, ‘What is going to happen? I have only got six months left’.
“But once I am at the training ground, I’m focused, preparing for the next game.”