Arsenal News: The Resolute Visionary That Is Tomas Rosicky

Tomas Rosicky.

Urbane, elegant, and suave. These are some of the words many fans referred to when the Czech international signed for Arsenal in 2006. Also being referred to as "drop-dead gorgeous" by the female fans, Tomas Rosicky became a fan favorite for all Gooners even before wearing the Arsenal shirt.

He's been hailed as a visionary by the majority of the critics, citing his ability to change the outcome of a game from a single pass. Great things were expected from the Czech international, and rightfully so.

Rosicky is one of the select few in the world of football who has a style that adorns the game. His dribbling skills have bewildered some of the finest defenders in Europe, and his vision has captivated the fans over.

The Czech's zeal was always admirable, yet sadly Rosicky's violable nature seemed to always get the better of him.

Beginnings

Rosicky started his football career at the age of 6. He joined Kompresory Prague before joining Sparta Prague two years later. By the age of 18, the young Czech was considered one of the best talents in the Czech Republic.

As a youngster, Rosicky knew nothing but absolute success, winning the Czech Liga three times in a row, before going to the Bundesliga and plying his trade for Borussia Dortmund in 2002. There he helped them win the Bundesliga title in his first season. This was the first time Dortmund lifted the Bundesliga title in six long years, and he was also a major factor in Dortmund's impressive UEFA Cup run to the final in that same year.

Rosicky also won the Czech Player of the Year award in the 2002 season, after his brilliant debut season with Borussia Dortmund. The young Czech was only 22 years old at the time. Rosicky was on fire.

After that season, Rosicky became an instant fan favorite and gained the nickname "Little Mozart," for his ability to orchestrate the game with his passing and his vision during his time in Germany.

Rosicky's time in Germany wasn't all too good though. Despite Dortmund's talented squad at the time, the team's performance declined, and by the 2005-06 season, Dortmund were in massive debts at the time and could not hold on to Rosicky, especially after the player expressed his desire to leave at the end of the season.

Joining Arsenal

On 23 May 2006, Rosicky officially signed for Arsenal on a long term contract. Little Mozart inherited the legendary No. 7 shirt, previously donned by Arsenal legend Robert Pires. His Arsenal career didn't have the fairytale beginning that people would've hoped for, but Little Mozart's contributions were on the rise, and his ability to adapt to the EPL was there for all to see.

On 11 February 2007, Rosicky scored his first goal in the EPL and for the Gunners. He celebrated his goal by running to the fans and kissing the Arsenal badge. This led to Rosy being adored even more by the Arsenal faithful. Rosicky was finally understanding what the EPL was all about.

In the 2007-08 season, Rosicky was one of the main reasons the Gunners were competing with such strength in the Premier League and the Champions League. Sadly, the red and white army were victim to malignant, petty football by lower teams like Birmingham, and fell victim to deplorable and vile refereeing made sure that Rosicky's and Arsenal's efforts were all in vain.

Sadly though, the abusive tackles on Arsenal players were only going to get worse before they got any better, thanks mainly to malevolent players such as Martin Taylor and Ryan Shawcross.

Yet, as irony would have, the player that almost suffered a career threatening injury wasn't Eduardo, Ramsey, or Diaby, all of whom were almost legless after the tackles they suffered. It was Rosicky.

During the 2007-08 campaign, Tomas Rosicky suffered a hamstring tendon injury which led him to miss 18 months of football. Little Mozart missed the entire 2008-09 season, and missed almost two years of football.

When interviewed, Rosicky stated that it was the toughest time in his career, and stated that he thought he'd be forced into early retirement, that it was hard for him to be all alone in a different country where he doesn't know many people, and that when you're alone by yourself and injured, you start to wonder about what might happen. But also stated that the Arsenal fans' devotion alleviated the Mozart of football

To make the situation bearable, Rosicky learned the guitar during his 18-month absence from football. He even played alongside the famous Czech band Tri Sestry, and performed at the Czech Player of the Year awards.

Return To Action

After what seemed like an eternity for the Arsenal fans and for the Czech International, Rosicky finally returned to full training in May 2009, and as luck would have it, Little Mozart still had some niggling injuries and was out for yet another six weeks. The fans and Rosicky started to lose hope.

However, on 12 September, Rosicky returned to play against Manchester City, and the moment the Czech player touched the ball Arsenal fans knew what they were missing for almost two years. Rosicky assisted Robin van Persie for the first goal, before scoring the second as Arsenal lost to Man City by a scoreline of 4-2. But even though Arsenal had a bad game, Rosicky's return gave the Arsenal consortium something to look forward to.

On 4 January 2010, Rosicky extended his stay at Arsenal by signing a new long-term contract. When interviewed about the contract extension, Rosicky responded, "It's felt like home since I arrived here four years ago and I believe we're on the verge of achieving something special together.” Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, stated, "The new contract shows my faith in Tomas."

Now that Rosicky was settled after he secured a long-term contract, the Czech was able to fully focus on getting back to his best. Despite only scoring two goals after securing his stay (and making some crucial assists), Rosicky's impact on Arsenal was something other players need to peruse.

Rosicky scored a last-minute equalizer against Everton in the Emirates Stadium, which gave Arsenal a crucial point to help them in the title race, and then scored in the game against Bolton after being behind by two goals to trigger a comeback victory which ended 4-2. The end result was that the Gunners were first in the league table at that time.

In the Champions League, Rosicky was able to assist Campbell's goal against Porto and give Arsenal an important away goal. Despite not scoring many goals during the 2009-10 season, Rosy proved that when on form, he truly is the difference-maker.

After the end of the season, Rosicky had the perfect chance to return to full fitness, now that the Czech Republic was out of the World Cup, and the former Czech captain took advantage of the situation.

Rosicky had an impressive preseason, and in the couple of games that Arsenal have played in the league thus far. Arsenal were down by a David N'Gog goal and were lacking creativity and spark, but the moment Wenger introduced Rosicky, the Gunners attack was a lot more threatening.

Rosicky created the best chance of the game, showing tremendous ability and vision. The 29-year-old was unlucky to score, thanks to a brilliant save from the Liverpool keeper Reina. However, moments later Rosicky's cross to Chamakh led to Reina's own goal and gave Arsenal a crucial point. Rosicky proved to be the great equalizer.

Later against Blackpool, Rosicky proved to be the difference after creating the majority of the goals scored, as well as creating many remarkable chances that would've resulted in more goals had it not been for the other player's inconsistent performance.

Conclusion

Tomas Rosicky hasn't exactly shown his best form since joining the Gunners, but with a one-off freak injury like that which occurred to him, no one can blame him.

Rosicky's resilience proved that he has miles upon miles of heart, where as many players would have lost form like Eduardo, or just retired from football all together, like the saddening early retirement of Dean Ashton.

Almost at the age of 30, Rosicky is one of the most important players in the Arsenal locker room. His great personality on and off the pitch, aesthetic style, the ability to turn the game around in a matter of seconds, and his unparalleled commitment and loyalty to the club and its cause, especially after the faith they've shown in him, proves that the Mozart of football must stay with the Gunners for years to come.

After proving that he still has the hunger and the desire to win, and after reaching his true potential despite all that's happened to him, Gooners around the world have every right to adore and coo Rosy. They can only hope that Rosicky would stay with Arsenal for years to come, and be the first player to retire at the club since the retirement of the legendary Dennis Bergkamp.