Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has stated his readiness to take a leading role in the first-team, hoping to push the Gunners farther up the Premier League, according to Sky Sports.

Wilshere, 21, returned to action toward the end of October 2012 after an ankle injury left him with a lengthy 15-month spell on the sidelines.

The player continued to make his successful comeback to first-team action last night by scoring the only goal and producing a man-of-the match performance against Swansea in the Gunners' 1-0 FA Cup third round reply win.

"Do I feel like a leader? That is part and parcel of my game and is the type of player I am - I like to pick the ball up, run at players and drive the team on. We all need to show a bit of character now,” said Wilshere.

"We knew we needed to get a result against Swansea and we all applied ourselves excellently in that game.

"We want this cup - it is a big competition. It was the last major trophy we won and we know what it means to the fans to get a trophy."

Speaking of Arsenal’s upcoming league encounter against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the central midfielder spoke of the side's confidence going into the fixture.

“Chelsea don't like playing against us. We play football so if we can take the game to them and get in behind them, we can cause problems," he added.

"We won there 5-3 last season, so we know we can do it and we have to be confident going there. We have to take the game to them and play our football because we are a bit behind in the table and we need points."

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