Sunday 25 October 2015 11:27, UK
Jack Wilshere believes this season represents Arsenal's best chance to win the Premier League in years.
The England midfielder is out injured at the moment but has been impressed by the way in which his team-mates have started the season.
Asked on Goals on Sunday whether the Gunners did have their best chance of claiming the title in a number of years Wilshere replied in the affirmative.
"Yeah I think so, in past seasons we've struggled at the start of the season and then woken up in January when we've realised we need to get into the top four and finish in the Champions League," he said.
"But this year I think we've continued with where we finished last season, we've got players in there that want to win now, fighting for each other, it's a great team spirit and if we can continue this then who knows?
"We've got to take each game as it comes but we're feeling good at the moment so everyone is confident."
Many people have pointed to the signing of Petr Cech as being crucial to Arsene Wenger's side emerging as genuine title contenders and Wilshere believes he has already made a big impact.
"He was a massive signing. I think John Terry said he's going to get you 12 to 15 points a season," he added.
"You've seen that against Bayern, he kept us in the game.
"I think if you're going to win the league you need a top 'keeper like that and sometimes when the team doesn't play well - it's going to have some weeks - if he can pull out saves like he did against Bayern, and even yesterday at the end when they had chances he's going to get us a lot of points."
Cech was the only signing Arsenal made over the summer and while that led to frustration among sections of the supporters, Wilshere argued that it has helped the team and that they already possess the players required to challenge.
"It's always difficult when a new player comes in, for himself and for the players around him, trying to understand how he plays," the 23-year-old explained.
"People have talked about a striker but now I feel we have two strikers who are completely different - if we play a team who are going to play a high line then we've got Theo [Walcott] to run in behind and then if we need a player to hold it up we've got [Olivier] Giroud.
"The past week has shown that, Giroud came on against Bayern and made a real difference. We know the quality we've got in midfield with players like Santi [Cazorla] and Mesut [Ozil] who around the box can really hurt teams so that was never a problem.
"Whenever we go into a game we always know that we're going to create chances, if we can switch on defensively - not just at the back, as a team, as a whole unit - so when we lose the ball, we win it higher up.
"You look at the Arsenal teams in the past, they were the best at that with Vieira and Petit, they won the ball back straight away and were then in dangerous positions behind the opposition. I think if we can work a bit more on that then we'll be all right."
