The England international has been absent since November with an ankle injury meaning he has missed a run of eight consecutive Premier League victories.
Arsene Wenger's men have subsequently closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand, to seven points with the rivals set to meet at the Emirates Stadium on April 26.
"Not just over the last season, I think it's over the last few years [that we have made progress]," he told Arsenal's official website.
"We lost a lot of players from when I started in the first team, a lot of people said Arsenal would never come back but we didn't listen to them.
"We kept going, added real quality, world-class players to the squad and the main thing here is the team ethic.
"You can see that we have a great atmosphere around, everyone wants to work for one another and we go into every game knowing we can create chances if we stay strong defensively.
"I remember when I got my first injury and it was the year when Cesc [Fabregas] left. We struggled that year at the start and it was tough to watch.
"It has been totally different this year - they have been playing great football and it has been a joy to watch."
