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Tomas Rosicky has admitted being on the bench week after week is 'difficult' as speculation over his Arsenal future intensifies.
The Gunners have an option to extend his contract by a further year — an agreement which would trigger a testimonial for the 34-year-old, who joined the club in 2006 — but a final decision has not been taken.
Rosicky last started a game at the beginning of March and played just 19 minutes as a substitute in the subsequent 11 matches. When selected, his performances have suggested he retains a high level of ability.
“I can’t tell you anything at the moment,” said Rosicky.
“When the season finishes, we’ll see if I will continue for another season. I would rather not talk about it at the moment. Being on the bench is difficult — every player wants to be involved. When you’re not getting the games you want or if you are not even part of it, it’s difficult for every player.”
Wenger has named the same starting line-up in each of the last six League games. There had previously been an element of experimentation in Arsenal’s line-up, switching between a 4-1-4-1 and a 4-2-3-1 with some players deployed in a variety of positions but the ensuing calm has contributed to a run of just two league defeats in 2015.
That has prompted a sense of regret in some quarters given the Gunners were ultimately undone in their pursuit of Chelsea by a poor start.
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“There are a lot of factors why it wasn’t there early in the season,” said Rosicky.
“We were searching for the right formation. You could see [Mesut] Ozil on the right so many times in the first half of the season and in the second half he didn’t play there at all.
“It’s the same as Alexis [Sanchez], who was sometimes playing as a striker but you haven’t seen him playing there since. You could see that he was searching for the right mixture and it’s been much better in the second part of the season. Now we know how to line up next season and we can start on the right foot.”
