About two weeks ago, we were informed that Tomas Rosicky had just been handed a two-year contract extension, coming at a time when the Czech was rediscovering his brilliant touch and performances that we expected of him when he first arrived from Borussia Dortmund, prior to the commencement of Euro 2006 tournament.
Though the world has been denied of this amazing attacking midfielder’s sublime skills due to a persistent and troublesome knee injury that kept him out for 14 months, alongside niggling and recurring thigh strains, Rosicky is beginning to show once again why he was signed back in 2006, to fill the hot shoes left by one of our ‘Invincibles’, the French maestro, Robert Pires, a.k.a. dashing D’artagnan, who shortly after a fine run to the Champions League final in Paris announced he had signed for Villarreal. It was a transfer that shocked me, as Pires was not only enigmatic and influential, but he was also a livewire and constant feature in an Arsenal midfield that comprised of captain Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Freddie Ljungberg, Edu and super Ray Parlour just to mention a few. What made Pires’ departure a bit more painful was the fact that he chose the exit door because of Arsene Wenger’s self adopted policy of not granting players above 30 a contract extension of not more than one year.
Personally, I felt a player whose trickery, vision and movement down the Arsenal left was a very integral part of Thierry Henry’s success and the team’s title winning campaigns should have been treated with more respect, and duly handed the two-year contract extension he requested for. It was not that the dashing D’artagnan, purchased from Marseille after his impressive and championship winning performance in Euro 2000, had lost his guile and swag, though admittedly he had dropped a little in his pace, but he was still a threat to be reckon with as seen when he had an inspiring cup run with Arsenal on the road to Paris.
Pires’ most notable contribution was in the 2002 season when he was in devastating form before he picked up a knee injury that ended his campaign. Needless to say, Pires was allowed to leave at a time when his contemporaries were retiring or departing from the team as well, and we could have made do with his experience in the midfield – like Giggs at Man United.
At a ripe age of 33 in 2006, Wenger could’ve easily used Pires’ experience to help the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini and the team in general. It was obvious over the years that the loss of experienced players had cost Arsenal on numerous occasions, as the team lacked leadership to help marshal the younger players and also stem the tide of opponents when their backs were up against the wall.
As we all know Wenger always finds capable replacements for departing stalwarts. Rosicky was spotted and duly snapped up to replace Pires and he was given the no.7 shirt. Though Little Mozart has had a torrid time in Arsenal colours, due to injuries, his contribution of late is not to be overlooked as he adds a fluid dimension to the Arsenal midfield, as well as finding his scoring touch gradually. Now at 31, he would have either been sold or handed a one year contract extension which he may have refused considering the lucrative offers he had from other clubs, but Arsenal not only gave him a two-year deal, Tomas opened up that he turned down mega money moves to Russia and China as he was at home in north London, alongside being able to repay a club that has helped him through trying times in his career.
With the inclusion of players like Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun, though the latter is on loan, it seems Wenger has finally realized that having players well above 30 has its positives. Wenger must have felt this as well in allowing Henry a second spell at the club, a move which yielded dividends in crucial goals that won us games that we could have otherwise drawn or lost. This gradual change in policy has seen the much needed experience added into the team to help an already maturing and improving young side. Hopefully, the team will gel together with a mix of youth and experience, and Wenger will definitely not be adopting the same one year contract extension policy with the likes of Robin van Persie, who is about two years away from 30, will have his imperious form speak for him at the negotiation table.
For now, it is a thing of great delight to see Wenger learn from decisions of the past and let the likes of Rosicky spend the twilight of his career serving a club they love so much.
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Great Blog!