Friday 22 May 2015 13:14, UK
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed midfielder Tomas Rosicky will remain at the club next season.
The 34-year-old has been on the fringes of the squad during the current campaign, making only five starts in the Premier League.
However, Wenger insisted the Czech Republic international remains integral to his plans for 2015-16 and the club have decided to trigger Rosicky’s one-year contract extension.
Asked if he expected Rosicky to stay, Wenger replied: "Yes. We have taken up the option."
While the close relationship between rumoured Arsenal transfer target Petr Cech and Rosicky is rumoured to be a factor in the deal, Wenger was quick to dismiss the speculation.
"Tomas Rosicky is not involved in the transfer market at all, he will be with us next season and we do not use the players for that," the Arsenal boss said.
"Most of the time it is the players who want to join you who come in. Sometimes they might call each other, but we do not get the players to interfere with that."
Arsenal hope to end their Premier League season with a victory over West Brom on Sunday to take some momentum into the FA Cup final.
Wenger's men laboured through a goalless draw at home to Sunderland on Wednesday night, which was enough to keep the visitors up and all but secured third place for Arsenal.
"We have fought very hard to directly qualify for the Champions League and we want to get over the line and finish the job, which we couldn't do on Wednesday night,” Wenger said. “We want to do it in a convincing way on Sunday."
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was not included in the England squad named on Thursday as he continues to recover from an inflamed groin and hamstring problem which has kept him out since early March.
Although Wenger did not discuss the player with England boss Roy Hodgson, he has not ruled the midfielder out of playing in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa on May 30.
"It is not impossible because he starts full training today. We will see how he responds to that," said Wenger.
"The difference (in not being selected for England) is that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has not played in any competition for a long time. That lack of competition takes some time to come back to a good competitive level.
"I didn't tell him not to pick Oxlade-Chamberlain. He has looked when he played his last game and has then decided."
