WITH the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal lost the one man in their side capable of, as the Italians put it, “inventing the game”, of springing a surprise. Who would take his place? Arsène Wenger appeared to be ahead of the game when he signed Tomas Rosicky from Borussia Dortmund during the summer for £6.8m.

The midfielder, who has won 61 caps for the Czech Republic, scoring 17 goals, looked tailor-made to fill the gap left by Bergkamp.

He has played a central role in all four of the Czech Republic’s Euro 2008 qualifiers this season, and they are unbeaten. But Wenger seems unsure what to do with the 26-year-old — the player has been substituted three times, come on as a substitute twice and finished just three of the games he has started for Arsenal.

Perversely, Wenger has thus far persisted with Rosicky on the flank. He has proved both for club and country that his best position is to play centrally, controlling the game, providing the sort of service upon which the peeress Thierry Henry thrives.

Indeed, he didn’t have a particularly happy time at Borussia because he was expected to boot balls down the middle for his towering compatriot, Jan Koller.

Used properly, Rosicky could prove to be one of Wenger’s most shrewd acquisitions. Highly versatile, he has speed of mind and foot and a fierce right-footed shot. He must be encouraged to run the show, ideally in tandem with the precocious young Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, giving Henry and Robin van Persie the service they need. Rosicky is a creator. As a bonus, he can also score goals. But it is futile to keep playing him out of position and still expect him to have a major influence on proceedings.

Arsenal have a long history of producing playmakers. It all started in 1929 when Herbert Chapman, the Gunners’ incomparable manager, bought the little Scottish inside-left, Alex James, from Preston North End for £9,000 and turned him into the essential fulcrum of the attack. With superb ball control and a magnificent left foot, he could go past a platoon of opponents to score.

Then, in 1946, came another little Scot, Jimmy Logie. Physically less strong than James, Logie was more of a winger, a dazzling dribbler, providing exceptional service to his right winger or centre-forward. An endless creator of goals, he was invaluable to teams which twice won the championship, as well as the FA Cup in 1950.

More recently, there was the sublime Liam Brady, an Arsenal debutant at 17 who would give the Gunners many years of distinguished service. Brady was the complete inside-forward, by turns the maker and scorer of goals, mostly with that glorious left foot.

After him, alas, came the man who was effectively the last of the line. Paul Davis was another who joined Arsenal in adolescence, another with fine ball control and a splendid repertoire of passes. But George Graham, once such a salient figure in the Double-winning team of 1971, by then the Arsenal manager, had scant time for the kind of artistic, ball-playing footballer he himself used to be. Pragmatism was now the name of the game. Indeed, had he still been playing, Graham would not have picked himself.

And so we come full circle, back to Rosicky. After reaching the final last season, Arsenal have made another solid start to their Champions League campaign; to ensure that it continues, Rosicky surely must be given his head when the Gunners travel to face CSKA Moscow in the competition on Tuesday.

A great tradition can be revived. Rosicky already holds one trump card over Bergkamp — unlike the Dutchman, he has no phobia about flying.

CSKA Moscow v Arsenal, Tuesday, ITV4, 5pm, kick-off 5.30pm

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