• Frenchman believes Arsenal are ‘ready to compete’ in Premier League • ‘It’s the first time for a long time that I’ve had a team of what you can call men’

Arsène Wenger says he has his “most mature” Arsenal squad in years, as he also sought to reassure Jack Wilshere that the midfielder remained a part of his long-term plans.

The Arsenal manager finalised the signings of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Pérez before the summer transfer deadline – Wenger said it represented “earlier than expected” business – and the deals have bolstered both the squad and his belief.

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The club’s supporters have been crying out for a new central defender and striker and, with Mustafi and Pérez on board, following May’s signing of the midfielder Granit Xhaka, it is possible to detect an uplift in the mood. Arsenal resume their Premier League programme after the international break at home to Southampton on Saturday.

“I would say it’s the most mature squad I’ve had for a long time, because they are men,” Wenger said. “They are not 19 or 20 years old, they are 24, 27, 28, and the whole squad is quite mature. It’s the first time for a long time that I’ve had a team of what you can call men, ready to compete. After, we have to show that we are good enough to beat everybody else.

“I always believe we have a chance [of the title], even when we had young players. Certainly, I haven’t had a squad of players [like this] for a long time, who have enough experience to compete.

“We did it [the signings of Mustafi and Pérez] quite early compared to some other clubs because we finished our job on Saturday and the transfer deadline was on Wednesday. It was earlier than expected, because it was a quick turnaround on Saturday morning, which we didn’t expect to go so quickly.”

Wenger has sanctioned a season-long loan move for Wilshere to Bournemouth and, unsurprisingly, he insisted that it did not mean the 24-year-old’s career at Arsenal was over. He stuck to the party line that the plan was for him to return to the club next summer – hopefully, having put his many injuries behind him, to play regularly.

“Is Jack’s Arsenal career in the balance? No, not at all,” Wenger said. “I hope, personally, that he stays here his whole career. We had a chat together and he himself was concerned that he would not get enough competition early enough, because he feels ready to play. I couldn’t guarantee that, so that’s why [we took] the decision. It looks logical to give him time to really come back to a competitive level. At some stage you need competition and I couldn’t guarantee him that. Let’s not forget that last year he didn’t play.”

Eddie Howe, the Bournemouth manager, said on Thursday that he wanted to see Wilshere “attacking and using his creativity in the final third”, and Wenger agreed that a forward-thinking brief would suit the player best.

“Personally, that’s where I prefer him,” Wenger said. “I think Jack Wilshere is a world-class player. He has a great footballing brain, and understands everything that is going on on the football pitch. He is most dangerous when you give him the ball in the final third.

“For me, it was always a shame when he played too deep and too close to the goal because I like him where he can create. The thinking behind [the move] was that he would get regular football and come back to what he is – a world-class football player.”

Wenger said Aaron Ramsey was still out with a hamstring injury suffered on the opening weekend against Liverpool and would also miss Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Paris Saint-Germain but Alex Iwobi is back after thigh trouble. Wenger will make a decision on Alexis Sánchez, after the Chile striker returned late on Thursday night from international duty.