Jack Wilshere believes his spell on the sidelines for the entirety of last season will ultimately make him a better player in the future.
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The 20-year-old, who struggled with knee and ankle injuries over the past two seasons, and was ruled out of action for more than a year, finally made his return to first-team action for Arsenal in October against Queens Park Rangers.
The midfielder revealed his frustration at being forced out of the game for such a long period of time, and missing some memorable moments with the side.
"I was at Emirates for every single home match," the England international 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 (Henry) 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.
But the Arsenal academy graduate believes that such a long lay-off may have some positive effects later in his career and revealed that he feels even better and stronger than before the injury set-backs.
"When I look back now, though, I could probably have done with a break, having played so much the previous season," he added.
"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.
"My body is stronger than it was before," Wilshere explained. "I've done a lot of work with Declan Lynch and the other physios here over the past year.
"I've improved my core, improved my leg muscle strength - everything.
"Cesc [Fabregas] used to say to me 'take it easy, don't play too many games'.
"Obviously I didn't want to have a year off, but when I'm 24 or 25 I won't have played as many games as someone like Cesc, and that will help me."
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