Rosicky’s muscles, Traore’s patience and a competition winner

It seems that the common joke about Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky being made of glass might be a little closer to the truth than expected.

The Czech midfielder has consistently struggled with injuries since joining the club just after the World Cup in 2006 and the team doctor of Rosicky’s national team, Pavel Kolar, has suggested that it is a result of the imbalanced development of his muscles.

“Tomas has an imbalance of his muscle structure. In my opinion, this plays a big role in his injuries. Some of his muscles work more and are more developed whereas others are not. Muscles on the rear side of his thigh are enormously strained, it is a matter from his childhood.”

Rosicky’s injuries may be related to some permanent muscle problemsIt really is an astonishing revelation by Kolar. As I mentioned earlier, so many jokes have been made about Rosicky’s inability to stay fit for more than a handful of matches at a time but Kolar’s explanation seems to give clear evidence as to why this is the case. I have to say that it is more than a little worrying because, as wonderful a player as Rosicky is, he’s not much good to Arsenal sitting in the stand. It’s no secret that Arsenal suffered a pretty serious injury crisis last season and further comments from Kolar may also explain why this is the case.

“I think that in England medical prevention is not at such a level as in Germany. At Arsenal it is not at such a level as it is for example in other European clubs. Perhaps it would be better if Arsenal knew about his problems.”

As someone who does not live in the England or Germany or know much about either country’s medical expertise it is utterly pointless for me to comment on this, but at the same time I would be surprised if there wasn’t a kernel of truth to what Kolar has said. Last season, the Arsenal doctors in particular seemed to give injured players the all-clear before they were ready and a large number of them did suffer relapses; Thierry Henry, William Gallas and of course, Rosicky, are good examples. There is, of course, a chance that Arsenal are already well-aware of Rosicky’s muscle problems and have simply refused to make it public knowledge. Either way, the suggestion from Kolar that the Czech midfielder may struggle on a permanent basis is worrying, especially for a player who is very much first-choice at the club.

Traore is happier developing with the Arsenal squad than going out on loanTraore content as second-choice

One player who is not yet first-choice at the club but is enjoying his development immensely is Armand Traore. The young French left-back is currently second behind countryman Gael Clichy for the position and revealed that he is happier fighting for a first-team place at Arsenal than going out on loan at another club.

“I have spoken with the boss and he has told me that the position of official second-choice left-back is there for me. I think I am going to stay at Arsenal and still try to keep improving every day in training. I wanted to do that rather than go on loan, but when I speak to the manager and if he tells me that it has to be done, then of course it will be done.”

He looked extremely sharp when given the opportunity to play pre-season in the Emirates Cup and that was backed up by another great performance in the 2-0 Carling Cup win over Newcastle. The outstanding potential of Traore is obvious for anyone to see – heck, even William Gallas has noticed it – and as the outright second-choice at left-back I don’t think there is any way that Wenger will let him go out on loan this season. He will continue to get opportunities in the Carling Cup matches and if Clichy ever gets injured then I don’t think Wenger will have any hesitation in playing the 18-year-old.

Before I go I just want to announce the winner of The Gooner Gazette’s Arseshirts competition. To win the free shirt all you had to do was answer the question: “Who scored the winning goal in Arsenal’s recent win over West Ham?”. The answer was of course Robin van Persie and I’m happy to say that the winner of the competition was Jonathan Bradley. I’ll be in touch with you soon to organise sending you a shirt. For everyone else who entered, bad luck, but there will be another shirt up for grabs in the next issue when it is released. You can check out all the shirts on offer here. Cheers.

What do you think?

Have your say on Armand Traore or Tomas Rosicky by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. I am an admirer of Traore and am glad he is in our cup run. But 2 players that i hope to see more in the carling cup run are Fran Merida, who has been in the media a lot becuase Barca want money off of him, and Nacer Barazite who is on form at the moment – he scored on his senior debut against Barnet in pre-season, he scored a hat-trick in the game before chelsea in the reserves and he fully deserves a shot. Hope to see our REALLY young gunners playing for us against Sheff Utd.

  2. Rosicky is not a left winger.Every chance he gets he cuts inside onto his right foot.If we dont sign a left footer than why not try Clichy in front or Traore as they have done with Sagna and Eboue on the right.
    I aint to bothered if we do not buy anyone.I would like to see the boss try and play young Armand Traore on the wing when Rosicky is injured,If only for a couple of games to see if he can cope.But if we are to buy anyone I would like to see in Miguel Veloso,Ben Arfa and probably bring back Carlos Vela.

  3. I find it hard to believe that Arsenals doctors weren’t already aware of Rosickys problems, on the other hand if they were aware then why did they sign him? It’s well known that Arsenal have the best sports physio in England who also is the physio for the England national team.

  4. Overmasrs wasn’t a left winger either and if I remember correctly didn’t have a particularly good left foot and used to cut in onto his right foot too, and was very successful at it as well.

  5. Yeah, the fact that Rosicky cuts in doesn’t mean he shouldn’t play on the left. I know a lot of the cry at the start of the season (and I’ll be the first to admit I was part of it) was for a natural left-sided player, but because of Clichy’s energy I think Rosicky cutting in makes the attack even more dangerous. As ColonelMarquand pointed out, Overmars did the same thing and so did Pires/Ljungberg when they played on the left.

  6. I think that you will all agree that Overmars was one of the best players to ever wear an Arsenal shirt and he was always cutting in and how many goals did he score aswell as he assisted. Rosicky hasn’t shown a weakness even though he has one. But if he gets injured then i say play RVP on the left wing becuase he used to be a LM and got a lot of goals, then play Ade and Da Silva upfront.

  7. overmars reaped benefits from the wing becoz he had the speed to go past defenders,and so that gave him the two options which isto come inside and also to go past on the outside.Rosicky is rathr limited in that he dribbles more in closed area hence his best position being the middle where he can go either way.i think if playing on the wing affects Rosicky game tWenger needs to stop ryna convert him he is a class player and surely there is a solution to this problem

  8. maybe if Hatem Ben Arfa is to join the gunners he can play wing allowing Rosicky to play behinf the strikers.

  9. casicky – While I agree with what you’re saying, Rosicky’s performances on the left when he has been available have been excellent. If he’s fit he deserves to play there, but it is a bit of a worry that he never gets a good run of games.

    Jay – If Rosicky played behind the strikers then Fabregas would be ousted and that is madness. Even if Ben Arfa came in there is no way he would become a certain starter, as I said Rosicky should stay where he is because, quite frankly, our midfield is performing exceptionally well at the moment. There is no need for this type of change.

  10. SF is right, our midfield has been working great with Rosicky playing on the wing and its one of our best starts to a season for years, why change?

  11. “It’s well known that Arsenal have the best sports physio in England who also is the physio for the England national team.”

    I meant to comment on this yesterday. I’m sure Arsenal’s physio is absolutely top notch but I think what Kolar is referring to is the technological advancements or even the perspective taken by Germany about sports science. Is there much of a difference?

  12. The Doctor’s comments were annoying to say the least. The guy was brought from Germany so why wasn’t that problem fixed if he claims the Gemans have superior medical facilities? I think Stutgart knew his problem and decided to pull a fast one on us. Arsene should have checked his suitability to play in the physical EPL.

    We should be looking at the possibility of bringing an LW say Ben Afa of France and sell him. He spend too much time on the treatment table. He’s a quality player but we can’t afford to pay his wages while he spend time on the treatment table.

  13. Well said, reminds me a little of Ljungberg in the past couple of years. You’d think that Arsenal are aware of his problems but even so, he’s had so many injuries in the past couple of seasons that is really starting to get frustrating.

  14. I don’t think this is purely ans Arsenal problem and indeed I don’t think it’s a football problem either. You look at the England football team most of them have had a serious injury and most of them have broken their metatarsal (some of them more than once.) Also look at the injuries the England Cricket and Rugby teams, they have had continuous injuries of players over many years that never seem to get properly sorted out. Why this is I have no idea because they are all constantly flying around the World to see specialists. Maybe because in English sports (especially training) the emphasis seems to always be on hard work and endeavour instead of skill and technical ability.

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