Arsenal players past and present have been paying tribute to Tomas Rosicky since the midfielder announced his retirement from football on Thursday.

Tomas Rosicky announced his retirement from football on Thursday after struggling to stay fit for current side Sparta Prague.

Since returning to his childhood team in 2016, the 37-year-old made just 13 appearances over all competitions due to injury. Therefore, the midfielder finally decided to hang up his boots.

The outpouring of support for Rosicky since the announcement has been overwhelming. Arsenal players past and present have taken to social media to pay tribute to Tomas Rosicky – one of the Gunners’ most exciting midfielders.

Sead Kolasinac, for example, remembers when the little maestro was at Borussia Dortmund. Tomas Rosicky was a household name in Germany from 2001-2005, during which time Kolasinac was at Karlsruher SC.

“I remember him from the time when he was at Dortmund,” Kolasinac told Arsenal.com. “He was a very good footballer, also when he came here. You’d only ever see him doing good things, either when you read about him or watched him play.

“What I also still remember is that goal early on in the game away at Tottenham, when he smashed one into the corner with the outside of his foot. That’s what really sticks in my head.

“There’s always a time where the next phase of your life arrives, and that’s the case for him now. You can only speak positively about his career. He was a very good footballer and, from what my team-mates here have told me, he’s a very good person too.”

Special player; special guy

Other current players who wished Rosicky their best on social media were Theo Walcott, Per Mertesacker, Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil and Emi Martinez. All of whom got to feature in the same side as the former Czech Republic international during his decade in north London.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc7KBtXASQT/

https://twitter.com/MesutOzil1088/status/943453141609123840

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/943472998056628224

Kieran Gibbs, who signed for West Brom in the summer, also reached out to Rosicky. Joking aside, they probably knew each other pretty well from the treatment room… As did Mathieu Flamini.

https://twitter.com/mathieuflamini/status/943534756465168385

Ex-Gunner Ray Parlour also paid tribute to Rosicky. Even though the former midfielder left for Middlesbrough two years before the Dortmund midfielder came on board, Parlour did what he does best and offered him out for a pint.

https://twitter.com/RealRomfordPele/status/943518746546790400

In total, Rosicky made 247 appearances for Arsenal over all competitions, scored 28 goals and provided 22 assists. This could have been so much more if he’d just managed to stay fit and I’m sure that will haunt him. However, there’s not a person on this planet who would have watched Rosicky play and not seen his potential.

Good luck, Tomas!