Tomas Rosicky has seen himself pushed to the periphery of the Arsenal squad this season, but why has Arsene Wenger lost faith in the experienced midfielder?
Arsenal’s Czech international Tomas Rosicky has been a ghost this season, with his appearances for the Gunners restricted to a couple of cameos and a single start against Southampton in the Capital One Cup.
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At 34-years-old you may think this is hardly surprising, but the fact that the dynamic midfielder had such a superb 2013/14 season makes you wonder what has happened to him over the summer.
The Arsenal star has always had more of an impact during the second half of the season, and has often been used sparingly by Arsene Wenger in the opening fixtures. But to see him pushed out of the team completely, often failing to even make the bench, is just bizarre.
To the manager’s credit, the brief glimpses of Rosicky that we have had this season have not been particularly impressive; his performance during the Capital One Cup defeat to Southampton surely being one he will want to forget. But with the Arsenal squad rife with injures at the moment, surely Wenger could have found a way to utilise the experienced Gunner a little more.
Many were surprised that the Czech remained at Arsenal as long as he did, especially after missing the entire 2008/09 season with a hamstring tendon injury. He didn’t seem like the same player when he came back, with a number of Arsenal fans losing patience with the international star despite his previous popularity at the club.
He was never an integral part of the Arsenal set-up after that, but he did play important roles in the tail ends of couple of seasons. He has scored a number of important goals over the years at the Emirates, and appeared to have the unwavering faith of the manager at all times.
This season however, that faith seems to have totally evaporated; with Rosicky himself speaking out about his unhappiness over the situation.
He could be set for a start against Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday, although Wenger is putting no great importance on the result of the match as he already believes top spot in Group D is out of reach.
Arsenal haven’t exactly been in fantastic form this season, and find themselves in the midst of their worst Premier League start since it’s conception. This makes you wonder why Rosicky hasn’t been given more of a chance, as he surely could have had an impact in a number of games.
Despite his age he is known for adding energy and pace to Arsenal’s game, and if you need someone to harass the opponent then there are few better than the tireless veteran.
We may begin to see Wenger utilising Rosicky a little more as the season goes on, especially with an extremely busy Christmas period approaching. If he can’t get into the team with Arsenal’s current glut of injuries however, then he will surely struggle when everyone is fit and fighting for a place.
This almost certainly seems like the former Borussia Dortmund man’s last season at Arsenal, but will he go out with a bang or a whimper?