Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere can find positives from his long injury absence.

Wilshere believes his lengthy spell on the sidelines might actually prove to be of benefit to him in the long term.

"I was at Emirates for every single home match," Wilshere told the Official Arsenal Magazine. "It was hard at times, because I really wanted to be out there. Not just for my own selfish reasons but I wanted to help the team too because we had some difficult periods last season.

"There were a few moments [it was hard to miss out on]. When Thierry came back in January for example. He's a legend and I really wanted to play in the same team as him. I also would have loved to play in that north London derby in February.

"When I look back now though, I could probably have done with a break, having played so much the previous season. Obviously I didn't want the break to be so long, in fact I didn't want to have a break at all, but if I look back on this in 10 years' time, it might have done me some good in the long run."