Small, technically proficient and at times producing arresting moments of quality, Jack Wilshere looked just like any other Arsenal midfielder on Tuesday night.
That is both a sign of encouragement and the grounds for concern given that the 21-year-old has been measured for the role of shining light as his club continue to peer hopefully for a major trophy - the last coming in the 2005 FA Cup.
He has been groping around for both form and fitness during a season which has spent largely in the shadow of midfield pairing Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Oezil. Wilshere crept back into the light on Tuesday evening - scoring both goals in a Champions League victory at home to Marseille - and away from the fitness concerns which have followed a succession of ankle injuries that have affected his progress.
The midfielder might feel that he has some ground to make up, since injury had kept him out of the entire 2011/12 season. He would return last October only to prove unable to score and his tally for this season is still outmatched by the bulkier totals of Oezil and Ramsey.
Wilshere would flex his talents more impressively against Marseille, though, drawing admiring glances form his manager. "He played as a young boy on the flank, on the right," said Arsene Wenger. "I understand that he cannot play there, but he is quite free to move inside. He does that in an intelligent way. Sometimes you can find freedom in positions where usually you would be marked if you played more central."
So long as the London side can avoid losing to Napoli by three goals then they will emerge from Group F and into the knockout stage, although the progress of Borussia Dortmund is now harder to predict. The Germans seemed to amend their European form with a 3-1 win over Napoli on Tuesday and offering a performance reminiscent of the club's superb run to the final last season.
Their strength of character was perhaps personified by Sven Bender, who was converted to a defender but was more discomfited by a broken nose. "We had to change his bloodied shirt several times," said Juergen Klopp, the Dortmund manager, afterwards. "The last one we got from the club shop."
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