Rosicky close to Arsenal exit, but could now pen new deal

Tomas Rosicky was allegedly close to leaving Arsenal earlier this season, but opted to remain at the Emirates and fight for his place.

The Czech international has been in and out of the team this season, and has apparently considered leaving the club for pastures new.

He was absolutely superb during the latter stages of the 2013/14 season, and many assumed he would featured regularly at the start of the new campaign. He barely stepped foot on the pitch in the early goings of the season however, and when he did he wasn’t the same player we saw last year.

At 34-years-old he is not going to be offered a lengthy extension on his current deal, so an Arsenal exit is always potentially going to be just around the corner.

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Unless he sees regular football for the remainder of this season, he is unlikely to pen a new deal to keep him at the Emirates.

“We’d talked about me leaving in previous meetings back in September and October, but then the market closed and I couldn’t do anything,” he told talkSPORT.
“When you don’t play a single game in December and the market opens, [the prospect of leaving] is obviously on the agenda.
“Then you start to have second thoughts. It was an exception for me though, I really thought about leaving. Then Arsenal said stay and that was that.”

It would be a real shame to see him go, but he still has a good few years at the highest level ahead of him, and it would be horrible to see him wasting away on the bench.

“The rest of the season will go quickly, then we’ll look for a solution,” he said.
“Arsenal is still an option for me next season, the ball is in their court.
“When I get back from international duty we’ll start to talk about it. There are two options open to me [stay at Arsenal or go elsewhere]. At the moment I’m in a situation where I make the decision.”

He suggests that he could still potentially be at Arsenal next season, but it’s difficult to see it happening. He won’t want to sit on the bench for another year.

I can see him leaving the club this summer, perhaps with a move back to the Bundesliga on the cards.