Jack Wilshere has described Arsenal teammate Theo Walcott as a "dream" to play with and believes the winger's return to fitness will give everyone at the club a welcome boost.
Walcott has not played for the first team since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during an FA Cup match against Tottenham last January but, having recently returned to training, completed 45 minutes for the club's under-21s last week.
Given both Arsenal's current injury crisis and recent lack of form, Wilshere is keen to see Walcott return to the fold and give manager Arsene Wenger another option up front.
"I've never played with someone before who times their runs so perfectly and keeps doing it, time after time. It's tough in a game to repeat those sprints 15 or 20 times but he does it, and it's a dream for a midfielder," Wilshere told Arsenal Player. "He gives us something different -- he gives us pace. I know we've got Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who gives us pace but Theo gives you something different without the ball.
"People questioned his finishing before but he's improved so much. He can run in behind and he's good on the ball, he's improved that too. When you get someone back of Theo's quality it's going to give everyone a boost.
"He's got physically stronger and he looks quicker than he did before -- that might seem impossible but he does. He's done a lot of work on his quads and his power so he's going to come back fine."
Despite Walcott's step-up in recovery, the 25-year-old will not be ready for the club's Champions League clash with Anderlecht on Wednesday.
Wenger is facing somewhat of a defensive crisis ahead of the tie and may have to rely on his third-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, following Wojciech Szczesny's suspension and reports that David Ospina will be unavailable due to injury.