If you love football, then you love Tomas Rosicky, an Arsenal icon with a career marred by injury
Playmaker had an injury ridden end to his time as a player - but when he was on form he helped the Gunners tick like no other
“IF you love football, then you love Tomas Rosicky.”
That’s what Arsene Wenger beamed about the Czech maestro in 2015 after he delivered a masterclass to help the Gunners to an FA Cup win over Brighton.
Arsenal would go on to win the cup, giving Rosicky his second of three trophies in North London.
But despite the glittering praise and moments of magic, his time at the Emirates can only be looked on with sadness and regret.
He joined Arsenal in May 2006, with the club keen to get him signed before he went away to the Euros days later. It proved a good decision, as he impressed at the tournament with a series of top displays.
It only whet the appetite for his debut campaign.
The signing of Rosicky – a ready-made star from a club as big as Borussia Dortmund – created huge excitement. It was supposed to signal a new wave of superstar buys following the move to the Emirates.
A perfect Wenger player, Rosicky soon adapted to a new position on the left of a 4-5-1 and brought guile, technique and class to the midfield. He also displayed his long-range shooting with a series of goalazos.
But soon injuries would take hold and begin to define him.
Rosicky missed the whole of the 2008-09 season with a hamstring tendon injury, and reportedly had to have metal rods inserted in his leg after a number of failed surgeries.
After that, he was never the same.
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There were teasing glimpses of insane ability, and he became a fan favourite after regularly scoring against Tottenham in the derby, while he also netted in a famous 2-0 win over AC Milan in the San Siro, but fans were just waiting for the next injury.
A serious Achilles tendon problem at Euro 2012 pretty much finished him, and even though he did briefly feature in the FA Cup final win in 2014, his Arsenal career was summed up 12 months later.
After battling back to fitness, Rosicky captained the team to a 3-2 win over Brighton. He scored and won Man of the Match, but then got injured again and missed the final as the Cup was retained.
It was a perfect example of the sheer quality he had, but also how his body always let him down.
Wenger looked genuinely gutted when he was released in 2016, having again missed the season with a serious knee problem. His unfulfilled potential is no doubt one of Wenger’s biggest regrets.
Rosicky returned home to Sparta Prague before announcing his retirement today, and while on paper it looked the perfect way to end his career at the club he started at, his lack of appearances for them meant it wasn’t the homecoming of a superstar that it should have been.