Wilshere can be England's Zidane, says Wenger

Mesut Ozil is expected to make his first appearance for Arsenal today despite missing training yesterday through illness. The German, who is the second most expensive signing in Premier League history, travelled to Sunderland with the Arsenal squad despite the illness, although his -compatriot Per Mertesacker was too ill to do likewise.

The defender's absence is likely to mean Bacary Sagna plays in the -centre of defence, with Carl Jenkinson at right-back. Jack Wilshere will return after struggling in England's goalless draw against the Ukraine on Tuesday.

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has backed Wilshere to emerge from his injury problems into a player who can follow all-time greats Bobby Moore and Zinedine Zidane by inspiring his country to glory. Wenger stressed that the midfielder simply needs a prolonged period of regular football to return to his very best following two ankle operations.

Should he do that, Wenger is certain that he has both the technical quality and the mentality to carry England's hopes and even take the pressure off the rest of Roy Hodgson's squad. Wenger had noted how England and his native France had underperformed in recent internationals - the French drew 0-0 with Georgia and were beaten 3-0 by Brazil over the past eight days - and believes that both teams need a talisman. "National teams need a guy who absorbs this type of pressure and takes it," he said.

"We had Zinedine Zidane. When the France team played well it was all Zidane, but the others could play. Before we had Michel Platini. In the history of the French team, it stops when Platini stops, the results.

They stopped when Zidane stopped. You need a good generation but you also need one player." When it was put to him that England "stopped" after Moore in 1966, Wenger said: "Jack can take that, he is young, only 22. He has the characteristics to do that.

But he needs to play six months without any problem. If he can continue to play in October and November he will be normal." Asked for the similarities between Zidane and Wilshere, Wenger said: "Not fazed by the importance of the game. He is not inhibited." Wenger, though, did concede that Wilshere had not been at his very best recently but also stressed that any dip in his performance would become magnified while with England.

"If Jack Wilshere has the same game at Arsenal we just say, 'He was not at his best'," said Wenger. "But when he has that game in the national team suddenly everyone questions [his] ability. The players play in the national team with that kind of pressure that comes from everybody." Wenger is also certain that Wilshere will thrive by working day-to-day with Ozil.

He is also confident that they will complement each other, with Wilshere playing as one of his two central midfielders and Ozil starting behind the main striker. "We all benefit from being with top level people," said Wenger. "Jack has the personality to be a top, top, player. He has gone through a difficult period."