Rosicky tips young guns to kick on

Tomas Rosicky has hailed Arsenal latest generation of young talent and believes those who travelled with the first team to Asia on the pre-season tour have what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

The Gunners gave substantial game time to teenage trio Gedion Zelalem, Chuba Akpom and Serge Gnabry during the Far East jaunt, while the likes of Thomas Eisfeld, Ignasi Miquel and Kristoffer Olsson also impressed Rosicky both on and off the pitch.

Speaking to Arsenal.com, the oldest member of Arsene Wenger’s squad reflected:
“For them it’s a great experience to live with the team on tour, and they can learn from the more experienced guys.

“You can see there is plenty of talent there. It depends on how well they will do now – how hard they work. From what I have seen though they want to do well and want to be successful.

“Character-wise they are all good boys and I’m happy to see them doing well. I hope they can make the next step.

Having made his own first team debut for Sparta Prague at the age of 18, and with a wonder goal against Arsenal in the Champions League under his belt by 19, Rosicky is well aware of what it takes to make it to the top at a young age.

“Obviously, as a senior player I’m trying to share the things that I already know and they don’t know. So I try to help them as much as I can, and from then it depends on them.
“All the younger boys are very talented players. There is a long way to go for them but you can see that they have talent and they really want to learn. That’s the most important thing.”
One youngster who didn’t feature in Asia was Yaya Sanogo. Too busy winning the under-20 World Cup with France to travel east, the French attacker says he’s slowly coming to terms with life at Arsenal after a hectic two months in England.
“I will need time, it’s a new way of life, a new league and it will take time to adapt,” the 20-year-old told Arsenal Player.
“It’s something I will manage. I think I’ll have to toughen up and improve my strength, that’s part and parcel of such an intense league as the Premier League, as well as getting used to the step up, which it is from the French league.”
Unfortunately, if rumours are to be believed, he’s picked up a back injury since giving the interview. Arseblog News suggests that’s as good a sign as any that he really is adapting to the ways of the Arsenal.