Tomas Rosicky admits his lack of game time at the Emirates remains a source of frustration but he’s continuing to train hard in the hope of seizing any opportunities that come his way.
Now 34-years-old the midfielder appears to have shuffled down Arsene Wenger’s pecking order since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez with the boss handing the veteran just one start this term – against Southampton in the Capital One Cup – and a series of late cameos from the bench.
Selected for international duty ahead of the Czech Republic’s tough away games with Turkey and Kazakhstan, Rosicky did his best to play down his disappointment when faced with a barrage of questions from local media.
“My situation is still the same. No one likes when not playing and that goes the same for me.
“Gentlemen, I understand that you ask the questions and that my situation is interesting to you, but I don’t know what to say.
“This situation arises for every footballer. I have to deal with it. Of course, the number of minutes that I’ve played is unsatisfying, but I’ve endured difficult periods before.
“When you look back I’ve had moments like this before. I’ve had to wait until someone drops out of the team, but I’m not at the stage of being hugely frustrated. In football sometimes it just goes like this. The strongest survive, I have to endure and hopefully it’ll turn around.
“If it continues like this, then there’ll be something to talk about. At the moment there’s only one solution. I can just train hard and be poised for the moment when my chance comes.”
Last season Rosicky made a creditable 39 appearances for the Gunners, the most he’s made in a single season since arriving in 2007, and was rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract in March.
His experience remains vital to a squad with so many youngsters in its ranks and given our injury record you wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a fair few games before he weighs up his future next summer.
I love this man.
Couldn’t agree more.
Its a long season and with our ever mounting injury list Rosicky will get his chance.
When he gets his chance, he has to take it.
I would love to hear Tom say “Gentlemen” on repeat.
His goal against Spurs away was my favourite last season.
Lept off my sofa when he thumped it in.
“Gentlemen” – what a gent!
What a player ! My favorite gunner !
We definitely under utilize this gentleman – Amazing TR7
When we are frustrated by not being able to go thru the parked buses, this man is our driver with the magical key to open the doors!
Just wish Arsene would give him more game time ….
I couldn’t get to grips with why the Little Mozart hasn’t played more often. There was that game at Dortmund when the team was desperate for some fresh legs and there were other games when his energy and experience could have helped us in the last 20-30 mins.
My only reasoning behind it I find is that Wenger has purposefully persisted with his preferred starters to improve the cohesion and fluidity of our attacking game. When you look at Jack’s improved form, some of Ozil and Cazorla’s recent displays, there are signs that this could pay off.
Have had the pleasure of meeting our Little Mozart and can confirm he is one seriously cool dude.
What a guy
Fucking play the lad. At 34 years of age he still presses the opposition harder than anyone in the squad. He deserves his chance
This frustrates me a bit. why do we consistently wait till one player is driven into the ground before putting someone else. and then we complain that he was shit. what do you expect? we have excellent midfielders, why cant we use them? i’m not saying, change 11 players every game. every club has a core (mostly the backline) but, you cant keep using ramsey, ozil, wilshere, sanchez and not expect them to get jaded. Wenger is consistently guilty of this. he has to make the others feel a part of the team and encourage competition. its just so frustrating… Read more »
What a man to have in our squad. Talented, experienced, loyal – A wonderful example to the younger players.
Poor old Tomas seems to always start the season out of the team but by the end is a regular starter.
I am sure he will get game time again but have a feeling there will be no more extensions.
What a great pro though and he could teach a lot of other players about how to deal with the media.
I wish we’d just balance our squad out.
Not sure we need Rosicky when we already have Jack, Ozil, Cazorla, Alexis, Chambo.
Realistically we could sell Podolski, Ozil, Rosicky and Campbell without really losing that much from our squad.
what?
hahahah guy above me said it perfectly. What?!
You want us to keep Ozil and sell him too? At the same time? Realistically, your statement made no sense. Realistically, if you sell all those players, we’d lose depth. Which we need. Realistically.
If only Ozil displayed his desire as much as this guy does on a football pitch. *sigh
‘Displayed’ is the key word here. Players display their desire and commitment in different ways. Ozil appears like he is hardly running all game, but stats show that he covers more mileage than most players in our team.
He could have been captain if it wasn’t for that bizarre long spell injury period. The guy has everything, love his goals and creativity.
apparently Ozil is injured so Rosicky will have opportunities
Lets see if Rosicky can step up
Oh I miss that inch perfect sliding tackle of his. He’s the only one to do it with such grace
#findramblingpete
*32 in football years….
I’m convinced Rambling Pete is being held somewhere and only escapes for short periods but I do miss his posts.
Rosicky was brilliant last season, with no sign of decline, so it’s hard to understand why he has not been used this year. I agree entirely with the above post about the importance of maintaining a degree of healthy rotation and keeping all of our best players happy and involved.
Actually Rosicky came in 2006 not ’07.
He should’ve played more recently due to so many injuries. Theo’s coming back, Gnabry too. Certainly gives more to the team than Podolski but it’s not really hard is it or inexperienced Campbell.
All of the first squad should play reguraly be it in the first team or reserves so they are in the rythm of the game otherwise they play the way they played against Southampton IMO.
When others drop form he always steps up.one season he did well was 2011-2012 when he replaced ramsey.he is 34 but 29 in footballing years so he says.
What a truly class act Rosicky is. I wish he could stay here forever.
Well looks like TR7 will get his chance to pull the strings with our Mega Ozil out of commision until the New Year! We will be within touching distance of the top of the table when Ozil and Giroud return! COYG!
Rosicky is an unsung hero of our dear club…… A gentle man indeed
Thomas will be the main man, playing a pivotal part in retaining our FA Cup.
Watch this space 🙂
Rosicky is one of the best players on the planet.He deserve to be the captain of this club
At 34 TR7 need to play more games to maintain his fitness and I don’t see reasons why he went this long without a start or more game time in PL. When is Wenger replacing TV5 and Song? I understand there are no quality players in the market, so where did the other teams get their player?