Arsenal FC : A Fit Tomas Rosicky Is Gunners’ Mozart

By Guest Author
12 years Ago

If one wanted to know about Thomas Roscikyai??i??s Arsenal FC career in a nutshell, a glance at last weekai??i??s events will suffice. Two goals and a virtuoso performance in a hard-fought 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion where he was Arsenalai??i??s stand out player, followed by missing the home game against Norwich due to a hamstring injury. While his injury record is well-documented, he is Arsenalai??i??s most talented ai???what-ifai??? player. There was a time when Rosicky, Van Persie and Diaby were so injury-stricken that there was always the nagging feeling that the trio would never fulfill their potential. While the Dutch striker has overcome his injury problems and transformed himself into one of the worldai??i??s best strikers, Rosicky and Diaby continue to be cursed.

Rosicky and Diabyai??i??s injuries are a source of constant frustration for Arsenal fans. However, there is a fundamental difference to this frustration. While the frustration with Diaby concerns both his crocked body and his performance levels ai??i?? he can play like a world-beater one day and follow it up with a poor performance; the frustration with Rosicky is never with his performance. Even the most cynical Arsenal fan would struggle to find a game in which Rosicky performed poorly. The frustration is with how injury strikes him at the most inopportune of times.

There is no doubting the fact though that he is held in high esteem by Arsene Wenger and his team-mates. After the win at West Brom, Arsenalai??i??s “captain” Thomas Vermaelen hailed Rosickyai??i??s performance

Tomas has always been a great player for us. He has been unlucky with injuries this season but his technical qualities are amazing. Heai??i??s a popular guy around the club, heai??i??s been here for a long time, and he knows everyone and we all get on with him because he is really relaxed. On the pitch he is reliable, always available to receive the ball and his technique is almost perfect.

Arsene Wenger too was effusive in his praise, espousing the Czech Republicanai??i??s qualities:

He’s had problems with injuries and then there was a problem with competition for places as well because you have Wilshere, you have (Santi) Cazorla,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

He’s such an important player who turns the game forward, brings movement into the game, makes a game look simple and you feel when he has the ball that something can always happen. Not many players have that in their locker.Before he played too far away from the box. I always played him wide but I put him in a position where he is more central now. He’s more dangerous to score. I said to him ‘today is a really special game for you because you scored two’. The most important thing is he scores them when you need them and we needed them today.

Arsenal, surely need goals and assists from Thomas Rosicky in this final lap of the season. He did it in the second half of last season when the form of the then Arsenal captain took a dip and the Czech Republican national captain upped his game to ensure Arsenal finished in the Champions League places. As alluded to by Arsene Wenger, with the likes of Wilshere and Cazorla in the team, Rosicky has found a place in the starting line-up hard to come by. However, what is noticeable when he plays in the hole behind the striker is that he brings the other attacking players more into play. While Jack Wilshere is undoubtedly an explosive talent and a quick learner, one of his slight weaknesses is that he sometimes fails to dovetail with the likes of Cazorla and Ramsey.

With Santi Cazorla now deployed nominally on the left ai??i?? he has the license to roam everywhere and frequently pops up on the right or in central positions ai??i?? Rosickyai??i??s discipline, work rate and technique are a perfect combination to complement the Spaniardai??i??s free-roaming role. What Rosicky has and Wilshere currently lacks ai??i?? there is no doubt Wilshere will quickly learn and understand his role better, is the tactical discipline needed to play alongside Cazorla. Wilshere, as we all know, tries to take the game by the scruff of the neck and drives forward with the ball. In this process, he may try to do ai??i?? probably unbeknownst to himself, too much on his own even when he has better options around him. Rosicky, though a similar player, is more experienced and thus more aware of his surroundings. His strength, like Wilshere, is to drive forward and make forward passes with an intention to spur attacks. But, when needed, he can offer more stability in the midfield zone too. Wilshere can surely learn a lot by playing alongside and observing Rosicky.

Letai??i??s look at some of the aforementioned qualities of Rosicky. During Arsenalai??i??s 3-1 win against Norwich at the Emirates, with Wilshere coming back from injury and looking well off-the-pace Rosickyai??i??s incision was acutely missed. With Cazorla a bit subdued, Arsenal laboured through the first half. In the corresponding fixture last season (a thrilling 3-3 draw) – the Czech Mozart was Arsenalai??i??s best player as attack after attack was launched in the Norwich half. The following player influence graph shows he was one of the most influential players in the game. Also clearly seen is his effectiveness in the attacking third; completing 28 passes of 32 in the final third, including an assist to Benayounai??i??s opening goal.

While Rosickyai??i??s performance in last seasonai??i??s 5-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur is rightly hailed as his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, he had been in very good form coming into that game. A month before the game, Arsenal had lost Artetaai??i??s services due to an injury and Arsene Wenger turned to Rosicky to partner Alex Song in central midfield. Though not his preferred position, he performed admirably despite the teamai??i??s poor run of form. While illustrating his versatility and the ability to perform any role, the teamai??i??s and Rosickyai??i??s performances during that phase combined with the return of Arteta enabled Arsene Wenger to shift Rosicky to his preferred role behind the striker; a move which arguably turned Arsenalai??i??s season around. Rosickyai??i??s emergence also meant Ramsey, who had been playing in the No.10 role and performed well initially only for his form to drop drastically, was moved to the bench. Events of this season have shown that Ramsey is best suited to a role in the central midfield and Rosicky in the No.10 role.

To illustrate Rosickyai??i??s versatility letai??i??s look at some statistics from the game against Manchester United (a 2-1 loss) which showed his efficiency in the central midfield role (stats courtesy StatsZone App from FourFourTwo)

Though a total of 44 passes were successful out of the 51 attempted, Rosicky showed restraint and discipline in not venturing towards the final third; only 20 passes were attempted in the final third of which 16 were successful, an impressive percentage.

Surprisingly, he also made 2 interceptions during the game which was the joint highest along with Mertesacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen. The designated holding midfielder, Alex Song, had zero interceptions. Also, of interest is the passing combination of “Ramsey to Rosicky”. The Welshman, playing in the hole behind Van Persie, couldnai??i??t drive the game forward and was restricted to passing sideways to Rosicky and Song.

As Arsenal fans will remember, Alex Oxlade Chamberlian was the stand out player of the game. He assisted Robin Van Persie for the equalizer and was a constant menace in the final third. The main supply line for The Ox was “The Mozart”; Rosickyai??i??s precise through ball from the center circle was the pass that set up the goal for Van Persie. The “Rosicky to Ox” passing combination was the most threatening Arsenal combination in the entire game.

With the Cazorla-Wilshere combination not clicking as expected, Arsene Wenger needs Rosickyai??i??s experience as he looks to guide his team to a top-four finish. He needs the Mozart to be fit because Arsene knows that he can orchestrate the show.

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Written byAi??Chaitanya Lakkapragada

Categories: Arsenal FC, English Premier League, Features
Tags: Arsenal FC rosicky Wilshere

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