🙌 Arsenal Cult Heroes: Tomas Rosicky | OneFootball

Cult hero: a writer, musician, artist, or other public figure who is greatly admired or influential despite varied success.

And with that definition, let us introduce you to Tomas Rosicky.

After spending five successful years with Borussia Dortmund, the 2006 World Cup was where Tomas Rosicky truly rose to prominence.

His move to Arsenal was already agreed before the tournament and he impressed in Germany, scoring two brilliant goals against the USA despite crashing out prematurely.

This was simply an early taste of things to come in North London.

Nicknamed ‘the little Mozart’ thanks to his frantic tempo and ability to orchestrate play, Rosicky was perfect for Arsène Wenger and his post-Highbury Arsenal side.

Usually stationed on the left, his relationship with Cesc Fábregas and Aleksandr Hleb was a joy to watch, with their one-touch play and telepathic movement proving too difficult to stop.

His trademark long-range shooting was on even full display following stunners against Hamburg and Liverpool.

But that promising start was quickly hampered by injuries – a theme that would later impact his whole career.

The Czech midfielder missed a total of 990 days through injury at Arsenal, roughly translating to 130 missed games. He averaged less than 25 appearances per season during his decade at the club.

Wenger was the first to acknowledge this, stating he will “always love the player” but “forever regret he didn’t play more” after his departure in 2016.

Gunners fans will be the first to share those sentiments. But in the grand scheme of things, they never really minded.

Rosicky embodied every childhood dream of becoming a professional footballer. Every minute on the pitch was spent harrying, flying into tackles and constantly driving forward.

His energy and tempo personified Wengerball – even during those barren years – and best of all; he absolutely hated Tottenham.

Whether it was smashing one top bins at White Hart Lane, scoring in the dramatic 5-2 comeback or robbing Danny Rose on halfway before dinking Hugo Lloris, he thrived on the big occasion.

These are the moments fans remember. His goalscoring contributions were fairly average and naturally his injury problems frustrated, but Rosicky was absolutely brilliant to watch and never gave anything but 100 per cent.

Sometimes that’s all you need.