Arsene Wenger says "outstanding" Jack Wilshere showed he's getting back to his best with his performance against BATE Borisov on Thursday.
Wilshere dictated play in midfield in the first half of the 4-2 win and set up Theo Walcott's opening goal after playing a deft one-two with Olivier Giroud before chipping a perfect cross in for an easy finish.
It was only Wilshere's second start for Arsenal this summer after overcoming his latest long-term injury -- a fractured ankle -- but Wenger was impressed with the display.
"He had an outstanding first half and he fought until the end. I think he is on a good way back to his best and he showed that tonight," Wenger said.
"He is at an age where a player usually gets to the best of his career. He has only been stopped by a series of injuries. I just pray that he is not hampered any more by any problems, then you will see him getting stronger and stronger.
"He has shown again tonight he has not lost his quality.
"We had a team that was a mixture of experienced players and young players and we had good cohesion and played football like I want them to play, with a good pace.
"We maintained it for 65 minutes and then the last 20 minutes were a bit more difficult. Overall I'm very pleased with our performance.
"BATE is a good team, has good cohesion, good technical level, works well together, and we needed a good performance to beat them.''
Wenger also singled out Giroud for praise after the France striker netted his 100th Arsenal goal from the penalty spot in the second half.
"I just congratulated him for his remarkable achievement," Wenger said. "He is in good company. It's a remarkable achievement. The most difficult thing is to score goals and he has scored 100 for us."