Farewell Little Mozart
Jun 11th, 2018 by 'holic
That was quite the weekend, the highlight being the Tomas Rosicky farewell match shown live (eventually) on Arsenal.com following a delay caused by a storm in Prague. A World XI comprised largely of Tomas’ former team mates at Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund took on a team of Czech legends in a light-hearted and open contest. The Gunners contingent included Jens Lehmann, Petr Cech, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, Gael Clichy, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Hleb, Cesc Fabregas, Matthieu Flamini, and Robin van Persie.
Tomas played for the World X1 in the first-half but it was the Czech team who took the lead in the eleventh minute when the giant Jan Koller got his head on the end of a Jaroslav Plasil cross and beat Lehmann via the inside of a goalpost. Midway through the half Eworthon, formerly of Dortmund, crashed home the long-range equaliser past Cech. The status quo lasted seconds, Koller restoring the Czech advantage with an impudent chip over Lehmann.
The second-half started better for the World XI when van Persie curled home a left foot strike from the edge of the box. That was about as good as it would get for them as now Rosicky had switched sides and Little Mozart was composing some sweet attacks.
When Tomas was put clear, looking suspiciously offside, Fabregas was forced to upend him in the box. Jens Lehmann hadn’t read the script and saved his old team-mates spot-kick, but Martin Atkinson ruled that he had moved too early and ordered a retake. This time he clearly went too early to his left and allowed Rosicky an empty half of the goal to hit. Both sides joined in the celebration.
Tomas turned provider for the fourth before an emotional end to the contest with three generations of the Rosicky family on the pitch. His father, Jiri, was one of the first to celebrate the last kick of the match with which Tomas’ five year old son nutmegged Lehmann to complete a 5-2 win for the Czechs. Rosicky joked he was actually surprised that Lehmann allowed his son’s shot to go in.
‘I was actually expecting Jens to save my son’s shot too! I’m glad he showed his human side as well.’
Tomas went on to thank the players who had travelled to take part as well as those who had packed the stadium on a foul evening. It was the latest in what has seemed to be a long run of emotional farewells. Hopefully we will see Tomas again when the Arsenal legends host Real Madrid in September.
87 Responses to “Farewell Little Mozart”
Arsenal News 24/7
van who?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf9XyZq25Kw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clm1QK5wIR8
[…] Link: http://goonerholic.com/2018/06/farewell-little-mozart/ […]
Wonderful player — and, of course, there was that goal against the neighbours — but another who lost too much of what should have been their vintage years with us to injury: 107 Premier League starts and 101 Premier League games missed because of injury.
Another oddball stat about him is that he played 59 more games for us than he did for Dortmund (248 v 189) but had 5% more playing time for the German side (15,676 minutes v 14,802).
I’m shocked Jen’s let Rosickys son score!
Tomas scored three important goals against the Scummers, the blaster at the Lane, the go ahead goal in the 5-2 and the second goal in the 2-0 Cup win, I always felt something good would happen when Tommy got the ball. A fragile bloom but a very fine player
i can watch that little chip over friedel and king all day long. that midfield when he was in with fabregas, hleb, and flamini had real moments of brilliance, too.
for anyone who misses highbury and wants a t-shirt, i saw these linked off football365.com: https://www.tshirts365.com/collections/football-grounds?utm_source=f365&utm_medium=top&utm_campaign=grounds&utm_content=front
oh, and no affiliation, blah blah blah.
Thank you ‘holic for this wonderful account of a game I would definitive have liked to see.
Rosicky a Gunner legend? Check, or Czech if you prefer.
Thank you scruz for mentioning that four man midfield which could be a thing of beauty to behold, not least because of the wonderful ball control and bursts of pace of Tomas Rosicky.
Thank you Ned for that wonderfully obscure piece of trivia about the relative number of minutes and games Rosicky played for Arsenal and Dortmund. I can see the monks have been working overtime and neglecting their gardening duties. 🙂
Rosicky, Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, and now Sokratis. Have there been others who played both for Dortmund and Arsenal, and if so has there been any who played first for Arsenal before moving to Dortmund? Should be an easy one for the monks, with the form they are in.
Sokratis hails from the city of Kalamata which should help persuade the doubters, especially if they have a taste for an olive now and again.
Seeing as he hasn’t signed yet, all this Kalamata talk could be an unnecessary distraction…
Nice to see Tomas looking happy.
Seems Freddie’s back to coach the u23s.
And Ash M-N has a new contract and the
No 15 shirt.
Happy with that, good to see players like
Freddie and Per on the coaching staff and
fingers crossed that Ash can force his way
into the first team.
bt8b@11: before there was Tomas, there was Jens, who came from Dortmund three seasons earlier.
Thank you, Ned. I see Jens Lehmann features prominently in ‘holic’s match report above also, but he was apparently not given the honor of playing for both sides (?)
Encouraging news on Torreira but Adli is staying with PSG. I’d like to see a goalkeeper signed next- Butland? He will be back from the World Cup soon!
Betcha Torriera doesn’t sign. He will probably end up at Napoli. Why would Sampdoria let him go before the World Cup, where he might look a world beater. All these silly stories do your crust in, but you still look at Sky Sports, Gooner news et al. Probably best to wait until Ornstein tweets a deal is done.
Congratulations to Aynsley Maitland-Niles on his new contract, which he earned with a most assured step up into the team last season. Keep it up, AMN!
Biscuit Bum
Might be worth looking at the latest Ornstein tweet re Torreira.
The boy has a release clause so timing doesn’t matter for Sampdoria. They can’t get any more money if he’s player of the tournament. Various outlets in Italy are more bullish than the UK press but this looks likely . Remember we haven’t got Dick Law negotiating for us now !
TTG, I always understood that release clauses only mean that any club which meets the figure stated in the players contract can negotiate with the player and his agent, and if the player is agreeable, the release clause figure is paid. In practice, unless the player really wants the move, the selling club, will wait for a higher offer, or an offer from another club, which the player prefers, meets the release clause. Samp. have no imperative to rush a deal through before the World Cup.
I had read Ornstein’s tweet, and, unfortunately, it merely confirms we are in negotiations.
Lopetegui as Real Madrid’s new head coach was a name out of the blue.
BB
If the clause is met the player’s club are obliged to sell if tge player wants to go. Your point about holding out until the World Cup is over , presumably hoping his value increases isn’t relevant.
If we pay the release clause ( in this case it appears we are paying more than the clause but staggering it in instalments) and we reach an agreement with a player and his agent the deal goes through. This is how Neymar joined PSG. Barcelona had a stupid figure on his head and PSG met it.
Footballers earn ridiculous amounts but in this day and age they can get bought and sold like chattels if tge Money is right. I still don’t feel remotely sorry for them though.
Real Madrid really wanted Pochettino, but unless Lopetegui has conspicuous success, he will be ditched in favour of Poch next summer, making it ever more important that Spurs can actually, finally, at last, win a trophy.
Doesn’t it depend on the player if
the release clause is met?
Napoli and The Arsenal are both a
step up for him but we are a bigger
step so if he’s ambitious then he’ll
come here and if he isn’t then we
don’t want him (according to my
iffy logic anyway)
Signing him and giving AMN a new
contract certainly gives us more
potential in midfield. It would also
mean 6 players for 2 spots with
Xhaka, Ramsey, Jack and Elneny
– assuming a loan next season
for Willock.
Wenger looked happier when he had Rosicky scoring wonder goals.
And he was not the only one, bt8b.
Speaking of Wenger, wasn’t he supposed to be telling the world which next top job he was taking before the World Cup kicked off?
I have a feeling he will end up sat next to Andy Gray and Richard Keys in Dubai.
AW has just been waiting for the
Spain job.
Southgate out!
If we sign Leno, he’ll be Dan to us oldies and Jay to the slightly less elderly.
Jay to me then 😉
Bless
😀
If they like Spain sacking their manager on the eve of the World Cup opener, just think how much more fun it would be if all 32 clubs did the same thing. Maximum drama, maximum entertainment. 😉
Is it just me or do the transfer fees cited this Summer for the players we are signing (or are linked with) not considerably lower than the fee we paid for Xhaka? If so, why?
Leno and Torreira are in the 20-26 million range whereas Xhaka was 35 million or more, was he not?
Re: Having to type in my name and email in the drinks.
I can remember a few tougher challenges, technological and otherwise. 😉
I watched the highlights of that match about three times and my nostalgia level went up to about 13! I loved seeing Tomas and the gang having a fun time on the field. The players that have passed through our club seemed to have been more or less nice guys.
bt8b@35: we paid 35 million euros for Xhaka. The current CIES valuation of his transfer value is 67 million euros (up from 47 million euros a year ago). It pegs Leno at 15 million euros (down from 25 million euros a year ago) and Torreira at 34 million euros (up from 16 million euros a year ago). CIES estimates typically turn out to be within 10% of actual prices achieved.
Fuck the World Cup.???
New season fixtures due out in about 75 mins time.
58 days to go.
Clive,
I need your expert advice for a Paddypower “beat the drop” question;
Will Russia be winning at half time today?
Personally, I haven’t a clue.
Home win against $ity. Good way to start the season.
Followed by away win to Chelski
And we’ll be set
I do hope our fans are realistic with Emery. That’s a daunting start and we need to have patience with the new regime
Have we signed anyone new today yet???
Dorset Mick
I’m reliably informed from my contacts in the Kremlin that it will be 1-0 to Russia at half-time.
Dzagoev in the 36th minute ??
Dorset Mick
Russia are absolutely hopeless.
But they are playing another hopeless team,so i would bet on the draw at half time.
First game is always tense as neither team wants to start with a defeat.
TTG
Daunting start. ??
6 points in the bag.???
Clive
Of course! But a daunting six points! ??
I saw us beat the Aussies yesterday.
They were confiscating sandpaper scorecards inside the ground. Did they think we were going to rub the stumps away?
TTG
Forgot to mention England under 20’s won the Toulon final.
Beating Mexico 2 – 1.
Eddie played well and created our equalizer.
Many thanks, TTG and Clive, despite the conflicting advice!
I have decided to (after much analysis, and a coin toss) to take the hopeless Russians to be ahead of the abysmal Saudis.
A game that probably matches up two of the worst teams representing the worst human rights nations in the tournament.
I do hope our fans are realistic with Emery.
And the board.
It would be ironic if we finished fifth and they sacked him for being a failure.
Feckin’ A! ?
Cit$h @ the Emery, then the Chavs @ The Bus Stop; with the Hammers back @ the Emery! ?
9 points in the bag, with 3 each from two genuine title rivals! ?
UTAAD&AN!
They’ve already renamed the Emirates after our new coach Dan? Feckin’ A, he is a power player.
Dunno about anyone else, but if I was Diddy D and one of my players, on the eve of the World Cup, said he was going on the telly to announce his club future to the the world (as the world shrugs) I would send him home.
Get your head on the job, son.
Clive@45,
Russia may be hopeless, but I wish the England team was that good!
For the last few years we have played Totts at home first and visited them towards the end of the season. It has happened again this year. The whole thing is fixed, I think.
Tough looking start to the season but the run-in to the title doesn’t look too bad: Everton, Watford, Palace, Leicester, Brighton and Burnley, although only Palace and Brighton are home games.
Chelsea go to Liverpool and United in their last six; the neighbours have to go to City. Liverpool, City and United have no other ‘top-four’ games apart from those mentioned.
How about the tsunami that hits Stamford Bridge? Technically not a fixture of course, as it is moving at high speed.
ksn@54: I think the fixtures are only fixed in the sense that a computer works them out and the algorithm used means there is a broadly similar pattern season to season, although there are so many exceptions to be factored in plus a set of arbitrary rules like no-midweek derbies to accommodate that the pattern isn’t necessarily rigorous or obvious. It all becomes more rigid for us with Spurs games as the clubs are paired to avoid both playing at home on the same weekend (as are United and City, Liverpool and Everton and, this season, Chelsea and Fulham, among many other neighbouring and near neighbouring clubs across the Premiership and Football League).
Dorset Mick,
Well I had Russia ahead at the break but it was a bit more emphatic than I expected ! I feel my clairvoyancy ( .is that a word or is she a beautiful French actress?) which served me so well at Aintree is returning.
My take on a game I watched very casually in a pub and then only the second half, was that Saudi Arabia were rubbish or we need to dope test the Russians . That boy Golovin can certainly take a free kick
Dorset Mick
Well the Arabs did play like a Sunday pub team that had been on the sauce the night before. !!
And officially,Russia on form,were rated below the Saudis as the worst team in the Comp.
I rest my case and leave the chirping to the Magistrate @ 59. !!
If the Saudis were wearing white capes it could have affected their mobility?
(Scoots for the door, or as the case happens not to be, the flap of the desert tent.)
From the BBC: “This is first time a club has been allowed to play home games at two venues in the same season. Spurs had been due to host Watford on 1 September, but the Hornets agreed to swap the fixture’s venue to Vicarage Road.”
Rephrase to a more unbiased resding:
This is the first time any club has been allowed to cheat in this manner.
Seven matches in December starting with Spurs at home and United away, and ending with Liverpool away. Joy of joys, and Santa please be kind to our shiny new manager.
CBA – Where are you, you old fart?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzFFK2dXgXg
Thanks for the info @ 58, NBN. My question is how is it that we have been playing Spuds away over the last few seasons. Has the same happened in the other match ups you mentioned, say over the last four years.
The Spud thing is nonsense – it should
be automatic relegation with 3-0
defeats allocated to each fixture.
If you can’t play your fixtures then
fuck off.
That would be fair, although 3-0 is a
little generous of me.
Luiz? Really?
Goetze? Really?
Are we to become a retirement home for the infirm? Are the medical department not content with the occasional visitor from the first team but need long term projects to replace Diaby and Cazorla?
Granit Xhaka has signed an extension to his contract . That suggests he is part of Emery’s plans. That suggests even more to me that Mustafi isn’t
I missed seeing Torreira enter the fray today . I had fallen asleep ? ?
It will be even better with 48 teams in the finals ( not)
Cristiano Ronaldo proposes that he spend only two years in prispn and pay a huge fine for tax evasion and/or other financial crimes he has committed in Spain.
Google Translate:
https://elpais.com/deportes/2018/06/15/actualidad/1529066910_542434.html
I’ve just had a 10 year old grandson going off to bed on Cloud Nine because he’s seen a game and a performance that reminds you why you love Football so much. That was a magnificent game and love him or loathe him, that man Ronaldo has star quality. And I definitely loathe Costa but his first goal was superb despite a possible foul in the first part of the move . It won’t be easy to watch that England team after this! ???????
I’ve yet to see a World Cup match this week but that Spain/Portugal contest sounds like it was an epic one. Too many household chores at once around here. Maybe England is on the radar though.
“The 5 key qualities that make Granit Xhaka Great”
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/arsenals-stephan-lichtsteiner-outlines-five-14791338
I’m not sure where they come up with this stuff. I have already done my part to outline they reasons Granit Xhaka is not great at all, so I won’t try any more.
I must say I didn’t see that one coming, and it must be admitted he has been a huge disappointment, but as with so many of our players, Xhaka will be improved with proper coaching, and the more structured game Emery prefers.
Xhaka was among the first group of players to be given a new shirt number for the coming season. That was the signal that there was no way he was going anywhere. Xhaka has talent. Emery must believe he can make the best of it.
Is there an unheralded change under the new regime to note: that we are getting contract renewals done without fuss and in good time?
I hope that a midfield of Xhaka – Torreira – Ramsey might prove to be the best balanced in terms of creativity and defence that we have had since Gilberto anchored the Invincibles.
Clearly there is still work to be done in finalising the Torreira deal and getting Rambo to re-sign so fingers crossed on that.
However for the Xhaka-sceptics, there’s a very good analysis of his strengths and weaknesses by Tim Stillman this week over on Arseblog that’s well worth reading.
Ned @76, I think Ramsey will be the test case on that.
Hopefully we won’t have the “will he-won’t he?” dilemma rolling through the first half of next season.
an electronic win for the French with
VAR and the goal line tech
they did not look particularly good in a
scrappy game though
I hope the Xhaka-philes turn out to be right. Also that he learns to notch down the petulance. If he does come good under Emery, that will be among the worst indictments of Arsene Wenger.
The stars having aligned, it looks as if I will be able to watch the start of Iceland-Argentina which will be my first game of this World Cup. Which probably means it will turn out to be a dud of a game but here’s hoping it is a humdinger.
Re: Ned @76: Not only contract renewals but new signings, and more of them, have been announced earlier than the Wenger standard closing time. The new management team gives the impression of much better efficiency in terms of getting the business done so the players and coaches can focus on the on-field business and know what their task is from the off.
In the FIFA VAR room they all seem to be watching TV but where are their beer and peanuts? 😉
Absolutely bt8 @51! I’m an EKB already! ?
So we have the World Cup, the ODI, the Rugby international and the US Open on simultaneously. What is a chap to do?
Buy more TVs, TTG?
Disappointing contribution by Iwobi for Nigeria v Croatia. Didn’t make himself available and his teammates weren’t overly interested in looking for him. Deservedly substituted. Needs to raise his game (and appear to be interested).
Moses diving like a good ‘un all over the shop.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>