Aaron Ramsey injury is proof Arsenal need more protection from refs, says Tomas Rosicky

By Sportsmail Reporter
Updated: 08:56 EST, 3 March 2010

Tomas Rosicky has pointed to the horror leg break suffered by team-mate Aaron Ramsey last weekend as proof that Arsenal need more protection from referees.

The young Wales midfielder sustained fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg following a collision with Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross at the Britannia Stadium and will not play again for the foreseeable future.

And while Rosicky refused to point the finger of blame at Shawcross, the Czech Republic international believes it is time officials stepped in and reduced the 'high' number of fouls against the Gunners.

'I think you cannot blame the player or tell that he wanted to break his leg, of course not,' he said.

'But it's always against us. The teams operate aggressively against us, that's no problem for us, I think everybody copes with that but I think we have to be more protected from the referees.

'If you see, for example, how many fouls the opponents can do against us, five, six and after that it's a yellow card, we are making one or two fouls and we've got immediately yellow cards, so we have to be more protected as well.'

Rosicky, who himself was sidelined for a lengthy period, has backed Ramey to come back even stronger, saying the 19-year-old is fortunate to have time on his side in his bid to return to first team action next season.

He said: I'm sure that he will be back because he is obviously even younger than us, so the healing hopefully will be quicker for him.

'I think he can see that, he's two team-mates like Eduardo and me, we were out for a long time as well. So he can see that there are two examples that made it as well, so he's got it in front of his eyes.'

Former Arsenal legend Gilberto also sent a message of support to Ramsey after featuring in last night's 2-0 Brazil win over Republic of Ireland at The Emirates.

'He doesn't have to rush. He has time because he is only 19. He has plenty of time to recover and it is very important for him to have a good recovery.

'He needs to be strong, especially mentally.

'He must not think 'I am young and I have this injury' because he will be back. He just needs to be patient and stay positive.

'I wish him all the best for a very good recovery. The most import thing is to be patient.'

Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, meanwhile, claims Ramsey's horrendous injury 'ripped the heart out' of the club but believes Arsene Wenger's men can go on and win a trophy in his honour.

'It was devastating for all of us. I feel a little bit of the heart has been ripped out of the club. I hope we can put him back together as soon as possible,' said Gazidis.

'The best thing we can do for him is win a trophy this season.'