It’s no surprise that Arsenal looked so disjointed and lacking in any real fluidity during their 0-0 draw with Everton on Tuesday night. Jack Wilshere was again (wrongly) given the spoils of the limelight, operating in the centre of an attacking midfield three, while the clearly better Santi Cazorla was left to make the best of the wide positions. Olivier Giroud’s poor finishing aside, the team really were crying out for the presence of Tomas Rosicky.
And it’s no real surprise. This time last year, Rosicky was one of the players rolling their sleeves up and dragging Arsenal over the line to third place. Robin van Persie will take much of the praise for his contributions, but it was the obvious renaissance of Rosicky that really caught the eye.
Arsene Wenger, however, has managed to keep the veteran midfielder away from much playing time this season. It’s unclear whether the player has suffered through injuries for most of the campaign or whether Wenger just doesn’t fancy him as a regular in the starting XI. But there can be no escaping just how much of a lift in spirit and performance this team has when Rosicky features.
You need to pair your best with the very best, and at this time Cazorla is the best player at Arsenal. He needs technically astute performers alongside him, those who are able to match him in quickness of thought and who clearly share the same attacking mind-set. Above all, names like Cazorla enjoy playing with Rosicky.
The win at West Brom gave the impression that the Czech midfielder was never away. He came into the side and scored twice to give Arsenal all three points. Not only that, but when he plays centrally in the absence of Wilshere, you don’t get a sense that Arsenal are suffering by deploying Cazorla on the left flank. There’s a rhythm to their game which comes naturally with experience, and while Wilshere will be the face of this team in the future, there isn’t really much of a loss at the moment in leaving him out of the side. It’s the way it should always have been: veteran names, experienced players and only a smattering of youth.
Rosicky’s contract is up at the end of next season, and this won’t be the first summer where suggestions of a move away come up. The player has been on the fringes of the side for too long, suffering either from poor form or horrible luck on the injury front. But once again, it seems like the clocks going forward have signalled the awaking of the player, forcing his name to the front in terms of those who can have the greatest say on the outcome of a season.
But Arsenal are not only restricted to a few good months from the midfielder. Horror results earlier in the season, specifically against Bradford in the League Cup saw Rosicky to be one of the brighter players on the pitch, while he was comfortably the best performer away to Olympiacos in the Champions League, before being hooked at half time.
There is a case to be made against the player that in seven years at the club has hasn’t reached triple figures for starts in the league. But it has to be noted that he spent the best part of two years on the treatment table, while this time last year saw him in the best form he’s been in since the 2007/08 season.
There shouldn’t be a stigma attached to players over 30 at Arsenal – and much of that can be attributed to the way Wenger deals with his ageing players. Whatever happens this summer with new arrivals, there should always be a positive transition between the old and the new; something which was evidently lost in the earlier years at the Emirates.
For Arsenal fans alone, it would be nice to have another player who is held in high regard to retire with the club. Yet sentimental reasons aside, Rosicky can still be an invaluable asset both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
[cat_link cat=”arsenal” type=”grid”]