Rosicky - I had tears in my eyes

Tomas Rosicky had tears in his eyes when he made his Arsenal return due to the “exceptional” reception he got at Emirates Stadium.

The Czech Republic midfielder had been sidelined with a knee injury before receiving a huge ovation as he replaced Alex Iwobi against Burnley, featuring for the Gunners for the first time in seven months.

Rosicky’s afternoon ended with a thigh strain, but the 35-year-old says he will always have good memories of how he was welcomed back.

“It was unbelievable, something I didn’t expect,” he told Arsenal Player. “Since the moment I started to warm up on the sidelines it was exceptional. Honestly, I had tears in my eyes after such a long time being out.

“I started to warm up and the reception was unbelievable and I will never forget it. Obviously it is the worse thing [getting injured again] and the feeling I cannot give the fans anything back at the moment is frustrating.

“I was out for a long time so obviously the relationship with the fans after 10 years was always great and they always knew I played my heart out and they always appreciated me and I appreciated them.

“As I said it is heartbreaking I can’t give them anything back after the reception they prepared for me, but in life things will be thrown at you and you have to deal with it. You are defined by how you deal with these things and I will deal with it again and I will be back again.

“It’s been a hard few days for me to accept. Sometimes you always say that you can always do better or that you can always improve more and more, but I don’t know what more I could have done.

“I’ve always come back from everything and I will come back again, I will not give up. I will make it happen once more, I will have the strength to make it, I will find it and I will be back again.”