The former Manchester United and Wolves midfielder is enjoying a good run of games in the Latics first team and his combative and determined displays are gonig down well with supporters.
Speaking after the Arsenal game he said: "I feel most comfortable in the middle and I think it brings out my natural instincts on the pitch and it allows for a bit of flair and creativity, as well as making sure we retain possession of the ball.
“It’s good that we are getting a few players back from injury because we have had players out of position in a few games which is always a challenge.
“That has simply been down to the misfortune of the injury situation and you could see today how much more comfortable players were in their more natural positions.
“It’s tough to come away from the game with a defeat when you consider the way we played.
“We can take great heart from the performance because you expect Arsenal to have a lot more possession when you play them but, I think we controlled the game ourselves for long periods.
“We didn’t try to force things from early on and we just kept the ball and drew Arsenal out until we could see the chance to go forward.
Next up for the Latics is the trip to face Everton on Boxing Day.