JACK WILSHERE still believes that he can play in the Premier League.
The former England ace last turned out in the top flight for West Ham around 18 months ago.
He subsequently played for Bournemouth in the Championship, but has been without a club since being released by the Cherries in May.
Having failed to join a new club last summer, Wilshere was invited to train with former side Arsenal by ex team-mate Mikel Arteta.
And having been working with the Gunners since October, Wilshere believes that his game is still up to scratch at Premier League level.
He told the Mail: “Yes. I’m confident I could deal with the physical side and have an influence.
“‘I always said when I went back to Arsenal that I would make a decision about my next step at the end of January.
“When you’ve been out the game, you never know which way it will go.
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“But it has convinced me that my playing career isn’t over.
“The manager is top class, and I wouldn’t still be training with the first team if I was bringing the standard down or couldn’t keep up.
“I can still beat a man, and these are top players.
“That’s a sign, for me, that I can still do it and want to keep doing it.”
Arsenal have been short of players this month, leading them to controversially having their trip to Spurs postponed.
But handing Wilshere a playing contract hasn’t been a consideration for Arteta and Co.
The 30-year-old is still training daily with the Gunners first team, and has even travelled to their winter training camp in Dubai.
He believes that his previous injuries have cost him, however, when it comes to attracting a new team.
When compared with injury-hit former star Michael Owen, Wilshere added: “Yes, I have that conflict.
“And yes, Owen was outstanding at 18, 19 and suffered injuries, but he still played for big clubs later in his career, like Man United.
“He still got that opportunity. I don’t feel I’m getting that.”
Asked to expand upon why that may be, he added: “Clubs look at players differently now, they think about sell-on value. In my case, that’s a no.
“The harsh truth is that I’ve missed too much football through injury.
“I might look good in training, but it’s Saturday at 3 o’clock that matters, and I’ve missed far too many. I’m paying the price now.”
Having seen him up close in training for the last three months, Arteta still believes that Wilshere is good enough to play at the top.
Quizzed on the matter in December, the Spaniard said: “100 per cent, and if he has doubts I can tell him that.”
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