The last time Jack Wilshere was on the pitch for Arsenal, making a name for himself as a young and talented midfielder, he had the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Samir Nasri and Robin Van Persie playing alongside him.
Since making his return after a 17-month injury layoff, the layout at Arsenal has changed with Mikel Arteta, Per Mertescaker, Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud the players that Wilshere needs to work with; however, the Arsenal youth product has no doubts about the quality that Arsene Wenger has brought in.
"It is strange because last time I played was with Fabregas, Nasri, Alex Song , Robin van Persie," he said. "Now there's the likes of Podolski, Giroud, Cazorla, Arteta.
"I think the boss has done excellently. He's bought well. These players are proper footballers -- they understand the game and they've been around. You look at someone like Lukas Podolski, he's got over 100 caps for his country.
"They're top players and it's easy to come into a team where they understand football so well. To play with someone like Santi Cazorla is so easy. He understands football, even little things like the pace of the pass he gives you, and his movement is outstanding."
In his first senior game on returning from the long-term injury, Wilshere looked every bit the player he was before the injury, with the 20-year-old confident of getting better with every passing game.
"I'm quite surprised actually," he told the club's official website. "When I first played in the (under-21s), I was really rusty and I think it was clear for everyone to see. Everyone was just being nice to me saying 'you played well'.
"Now I'm feeling better and better as every game goes on and there's no hiding place when you're playing at the Emirates, at Old Trafford and you're in front of everyone. You have to be at a certain standard so you don't let your teammates and your fans down.
"Mentally it has been tough because you question yourself all the time. You go to the Emirates, you watch games and you think 'Has it got quicker? I don't remember it being this quick. Can I get back to this level that I was at before?'
"But I feel good now and hopefully, with a few more games, I can get back to my best."
Wenger, as always, is being extremely cautious with his player, saying Wilshere still needs a few more games to find his old burst, something that the player himself agrees with. "I know exactly what he means by that," Wilshere said. "The boss always says it to me when he's reminding me to do my gym work and train hard.
"It just means literally the first five yards. That was one of my strengths of my game - the first five yards, to beat a player. He says it's slowly coming back so hopefully it will come back soon.
"I think the boss did it (my comeback) quite cleverly because maybe if he'd told me the day before, I'd have been a bit anxious and not slept as well. I was just preparing to sit on the bench and hopefully come on at some point in front of the crowd.
"He told me at half 10 (on the day of the game) he was going to start me. I was nervous but I didn't have time to worry about it. I just went out there and I thought I did quite well.
"The intensity was totally different from the under-21s. I played 90 minutes for the under-21s but after 60 to 65 minutes, my legs started to go and the boss took me off."
