Looking forward to Mesut Özil's home debut against Stoke City on Sunday, Arsène Wenger has admitted that Arsenal's eye-catching newcomer needs some time to adjust to the "vigorous body challenges he will face" in the Premier League.

Wenger had not intended to start Özil last weekend against Sunderland, and wanted to keep him on the bench to watch and get his head around what to expect, as was memorably the case with Robert Pires for the same debut fixture 13 years ago. "Sometimes the players, at the start, have a shock," Wenger explains. "I remember the first game at Sunderland, I said to Pires, 'Today you don't start – you sit next to me.' And, after half an hour, he said to me: 'Is it always like that?' And I said: 'It can get worse …'

"It was not bad at Sunderland because Peter Reid at the time was the manager. So it was quite committed. When I arrived, it was much more violent than today. It's not violent any more. Still, the pace and the commitment is high. I thought there was a similarity with Özil and Pires. If he does as well as Pires after that, it's not too bad."

Injuries forced Wenger to throw Özil straight into the mix and the German created a goal within minutes of his first start in English football. "He gave us something special in the first half, in transition from defence to attack. The speed of playing forward, getting out of pressure, playing final balls he did very well."

After a lower-key performance in the Champions League win in Marseille, Wenger expects Özil to kick on as he gets used to life at his new club. Meanwhile, against all odds, Arsenal's longest-serving player is on the verge of making a return. Nicklas Bendtner, who made his debut for the club in 2005, is back in the fold. The Denmark striker was close to a deadline-day move to Crystal Palace but that was abandoned when Arsenal failed to sign another forward during the transfer window.

Wenger confirmed Bendtner will be in the squad for Wednesday's Capital One Cup game at West Bromwich Albion, and challenged the 25-year-old to establish himself as an option to the in-form Olivier Giroud. "Of course I will use him," Wenger said. "It is a fantastic opportunity for him. Honestly, he was supposed to go, but he stayed and once he stays you have to consider him as a full player of the squad. If he deserves to play in front of Giroud, he plays in front of Giroud. That is as simple as that."

This is, according to Wenger, the last-chance saloon for Bendtner: "He lost his way a little bit, but he is not a bad boy. He is a good guy. He took the easy way a little bit but now he realises. There are some signals in your career when players think that is the moment for them. He has got the message."

Wenger was coy when asked if he might renew interest in Wayne Rooney if the Manchester United forward does not extend his contract at Old Trafford. "I will wait now until December to see what we need in the squad," Wenger said. "We spoke about Bendtner, Yaya Sanogo, Giroud. If the three do well, I am in no need to buy any striker."

With Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen also back in contention after injury, Wenger feels able to rotate his squad with the domestic cup on the agenda next week.