Tomas Rosicky's Brighton Display Shows He Is Gearing Up for Another Big Finish

Tomas Rosicky’s seasons are a little like his career: They seem to get better as they go on.

The Czech midfielder seems curiously immune to time’s ravages and looked as evergreen and effervescent as any player in the Arsenal squad during the Gunners’ FA Cup fourth-round win at Brighton. On this evidence, Rosicky is gearing up for yet another storming finish to his campaign.

Against Brighton, Rosicky was given a platform to work his magic by Arsenal’s early opener. Theo Walcott scored inside the game’s opening few minutes, collecting a Calum Chambers cross before firing expertly into the far corner. It was his first Arsenal goal since 1 January 2014. 

That goal delivered a significant blow to Brighton’s game plan. Chris Hughton’s side clearly intended to set up deep and soak up pressure, but Arsenal’s early lead left Brighton unsure how to react. Caught between their starting strategy and the need to respond, Brighton were poor, and Arsenal were able to dominate.

Rosicky was central to that dominance. His experience means his use of the ball is very astute, and his movement and passing enabled the Gunners to seize control of the game. He also provided a crucial moment of penetration, providing an inch-perfect pass for Mesut Ozil to score Arsenal’s second goal.

At half-time, it appeared the tie was beyond Brighton. However, the Gunners’ capacity for defensive lapses means an Arsenal game can rarely be declared truly dead. Indeed, the match sprung to life shortly after the break when Chambers failed to clear and Mathieu Flamini could not get close enough to prevent Chris O’Grady from turning and scoring.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

No matter. Fittingly, Rosicky fought back to score the winning goal. It was a thing of beauty: Driving at the defence, he played an outrageous no-look pass into the path of Olivier Giroud before dashing forward to meet Giroud’s clipped return with a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box. Rosicky is occasionally reluctant to pull the trigger, but this was a great example of his nearly perfect technique. 

He wasn’t done there. Rosicky even created a chance for Aaron Ramsey to put some gloss on the scoreline in stoppage time, but the Welshman could only volley the well-weighted cross wide. 

His stunning display makes his absence from the starting line-up for the majority of the season thus far all the more perplexing. In the first half of the campaign, Rosicky barely figured, causing him to publicly question his standing in the squad.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

However, in recent weeks injuries to the likes of Jack Wilshere have presented him with an opportunity to shine. Rosicky has taken it with his customary class, demonstrating that he remains an excellent option for Arsene Wenger.

Perhaps his autumn rest will prove to be a masterstroke. The indications are that Rosicky has plenty of gas left in the tank. Between now and May, he’ll be ready to drive Arsenal up the Premier League table and toward FA Cup glory.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.