Arsene Wenger reckons Jack Wilshere is on his way back to his best after his nightmare lay-off.
Boss Wenger will ring the changes for Arsenal on Thursday night at the start of their Europa League campaign, with Wilshere back in the squad for the home match against Cologne.
The 25-year-old is likely to get his first senior appearance at the Emirates for 19 months, albeit from the substitutes' bench.
Seven big names — Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Alexandre Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey — will all be rested as the manager prioritises Sunday’s Premier League trip to champions Chelsea.
But such rotation does give Wilshere a chance to prove he is back from the broken leg he suffered in April while on a season's loan at Bournemouth.
Last season's top scorer Alexis Sanchez will start on Thursday to boost his match fitness, while Olivier Giroud — who is one short of his 100th Arsenal goal — will lead the attack.
Wilshere could have left the club in the summer, and may become a target for his old England boss Roy Hodgson, newly in charge at rock-bottom Crystal Palace, in the January transfer window.
But Wenger thinks he can overcome his catalogue of injuries.
Wilshere’s career high-point is still probably his brilliant display against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2011, and Wenger claims he can see signs of his best form in training.
He said: “You have certainly seen the video of him when we played against Barcelona — his game is about that.
"He needs a little burst to get away from people because he can move the game forward and, if you can move the game forward, you need your legs to get you out of pressure.
“That will come back [for him] — it is coming back in training.
“He is very hungry and sharp. He is not completely at his best, but he is getting there. He enjoys being back and competing for his place and what I see in training is positive.”
The midfielder, whose last first-team appearance for Arsenal came as a substitute at Watford in August 2016, got sent off in an Under-23s game against Manchester City when he lost his temper and retaliated after being the victim of an X-rated tackle.
Wenger said: “I didn’t talk to him at all after that, because I was not at the game and I could understand his reaction.
“He had been out so many times after suffering bad tackles and had just come back from a fracture.
"Some just come back like nothing happened to them, some are traumatised for their whole life. It is like you have a car accident — some don’t want to drive any more and some take the car and go on again.
“It is very different and depends on people’s personality.”
Wenger admits Sanchez is not fully fit yet, but is involved against Cologne to get him sharp for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Giroud insists Arsenal should be strong enough to win the Europa League — even though they are resting players.
He said: “We’ve got at least two good teams [in the Gunners squad] and have a lot of competition for places.
"It’s very nice for everyone because we need to be focused and always improve ourselves.
“So, trust me, we’ve got a very good team on paper tomorrow.”
PROBABLE TEAMS
ARSENAL Ospina; Holding, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerin, Elneny, Iwobi, Maitland-Niles; Sanchez, Walcott; Giroud.
COLOGNE Horn, Klunter, Mere, Heintz, Hector, Risse, Lehmann, Hoger, Bittencourt, Osako, Cordoba.