Arsene Wenger has singled out Tomas Rosicky for special praise ahead of Arsenal’s trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
The Czech Republic midfielder turned 33 on Friday and is enjoying his eighth season with the north London club since joining from Borussia Dortmund back in 2006.
Rosicky has scored 22 goals and made 24 assists in 187 games for the Gunners – and Wenger was full of admiration for the midfielder at his pre-match news conference on Friday.
“First of all, I believe he’s a real Arsenal man because he’s been here for a long time,” said Wenger of Rosicky, who made his return from injury against Napoli on Tuesday.
“He’s really a player who represents the way we want to play football because he’s a team player who has pace, a quick brain and understands the game very well.
“I always like to have him in the team because of all these qualities.”
Wenger also admitted his surprise at the speed at which club-record signing Mesut Özil has adapted to life at Arsenal.
The Germany playmaker, who joined in a £42.5m deal from Real Madrid last month, netted his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League.
“Yes [I’m surprised by how quickly he’s settled in] but you never know how much time that takes – you can never predict that,” Wenger continued.
“But I thought when I saw him behave in training that it could be fairly quick. He has good physical qualities and I think that helps him as well.”