"Mikel and I played together for almost five years" - No offer from Arsenal, says former player amid reports of return as Edu replacement

Former Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky has rubbished claims that he is in talks to take charge as Edu's replacement. The Brazilian left his post as the Gunners' sporting director earlier this season, and Jason Ayto has been filling in ever since.

Ayto is among the candidates in the running for the full-time position, including former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth. Recent reports have also named Rosicky, who is currently serving as Sparta Prague's sporting director, as an option.

However, speaking to Livesport Daily (as cited by TribalFootball), the former Czech international insisted that he doesn't have an offer to return to the Emirates.

"Just the fact that I am there in some thoughts of the Arsenal management is an honour for me. But I have no offer to go and work at Arsenal," Rosicky said.

He continued:

"Mikel and I played together for almost five years, I can't say that we are somehow friends and that we have stayed in touch, that's not the case. We were good teammates, I think that whenever we see each other, we are happy. I haven't been to Arsenal for a long time now, during my last visit we spent a lot of time together. But it's not like we call each other."

Rosicky registered 28 goals and 23 assists from 246 games across competitions for the north London side in his career.

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When are Arsenal back in action?

Tomas Rosicky

Arsenal return to action on Tuesday (March 4) when they take on PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at the Philips Stadion. Mikel Arteta's team have been quite impressive in Europe this season, registering six wins and one defeat (eight outings) in the group stages.

They finished third on the league table and subsequently secured automatic qualification to the knockout stages. The Gunners have scored 16 goals and conceded just three so far.

However, their form in the Premier League hasn't been up to the mark of late. Arteta has seen his team drop 13 points behind leaders Liverpool, although they have a game in hand.

The north London side have won 15 and lost three of the 27 games in the league this season. However, Liverpool are now the overwhelming favorites to win the title. Arne Slot's team have won 20 and lost just one in the league so far this season.