Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger prays star midfielder Jack Wilshere stays fit so he will get ‘stronger and stronger’
The 25-year-old - out of contract next summer - starred for the Gunners during their 4-2 win against BATE Borisov in their Europa League clash in Belarus
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ARSENE WENGER is praying for an injury-free Jack Wilshere after Arsenal took a giant stride towards Europa League qualification.
The former England midfielder ran the show in only his second start in a year as Wenger’s young side beat Belarussian champions BATE Borisov.
And Wenger is hoping that Wilshere, 25, is finally over all the problems which have threatened his Emirates career.
He said: “Jack showed tonight that he is on his way back to his best and I just pray that he is not hampered by any more problems.
“He is at an age where a player normally gets to the best of his career and he has only been stopped by a series of injuries.
“But he showed tonight that he has not lost any football. He had an outstanding first-half and he fought right to the end.”
Wenger refused to discuss Wilshere’s contract, which runs out this season, but insisted: “He will only get stronger and stronger.”
The Arsenal boss was also delighted to see Olivier Giroud score his 100th goal for club with a second-half penalty following two from Theo Walcott and another from Rob Holding.
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Wenger added: “I congratulated Olivier for reaching that landmark because he is in very good company.
“It is a remarkable achievement when you look at the number of games he has taken to get to his hundred.”
Walcott passed up the opportunity to score a hat-trick when he allowed Giroud to take over spot-kick duties and said: “I had the chance to take the penalty but with Olivier on 99 goals I let him have it.
“Being a centre-forward I want as many goals as I can get, but I can’t be too selfish.
“I know the feeling of scoring my 100th goal and it’s a brilliant moment for Olivier.”
Wenger also found time to praise the contributions of teenagers Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Marcus McGuane and Eddie Nketiah, who all made their European debuts last night.
“We had a team which was a mixture of young and experienced players and overall we had good cohesion and played football like I wanted them to play,” he said.
“We maintained a good pace for 65 minutes and then the last 20 minutes was more difficult. But BATE had a good technical ability and we needed a good performance to beat them.”
