“We Have a Strong Team Capable of Moving Mountains”

By: Martin | July 9th, 2009

So says Tomas Rosicky, who is back in full training with the team after his bizarre 18 month injury. Whoa, there, Tommy–those are pretty big words for a man who can’t move a pencil without injuring himself–before we try to move a mountain, why don’t we see if your legs can first hold up to moving very small pebbles, and then progress upward?

All kidding aside, it’s very, very nice to see him back in training with the squad. It’s easy to forget that before his injury, Rosicky was capable of producing some sublime moments of football on the pitch. For all the attention paid to Eduardo’s injury and comeback because of how gruesome the injury itself was, it’s worth keeping in mind that Rosicky’s injury was actually far more serious and his return was far more unlikely. So hats off to Rosicky (and not just for this) on making it back at all.

The big question, though, was a question brought up by commenter Alexinho the other day–what can we reasonably expect to get from Rosicky? Given that he hasn’t kicked a ball in 18 months, it’s probably unreasonable for us to expect that we’ll see the old Rosicky return this season, if ever. And with Nasri, Walcott, and Arshavin all capable of playing well on the wing, and Cesc, Song, Diaby, Denilson, and possibly someone we bring in through the transfer market in the middle, I think it’s fair to say the chances of him breaking into the first-team are slim indeed.

But as we learned last season, oftentimes the difference between the teams at the top is depth. If he can get anywhere near his old form, Rosicky could be very dangerous indeed as someone who can play in case of injury or come on as an impact sub. If you don’t remember, a sample:

There aren’t many substitutes in the Premiership capable of conjuring up moments of magic like that. He’s a player with a lot of skill and always seemed to be a decent guy, as well. It’s great to see him back in training, and it will be even better to see him wearing red on the Emirates pitch again.

In other news, Arsenal’s opening day match with Everton on August 15 has been pushed back to the afternoon match, which is good as it ensures the match will be televised. Just over a month left until we have actual meaningful football, which is great news. We’ll have our Champions League play-off round first-leg match in the middle of the following week, too, so we’ll really be jumping right into the fire. I can’t wait.