Arsene Wenger’s absence is keenly felt by many at Arsenal but few as keenly as the clutch of legends who returned to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

It may have been scarcely more than four months since Wenger’s gorgeous farewell brought tears to the Emirates but the club have not wallowed in the past. Respect for the club’s greatest-ever manager will endure forever but the pace of changes already begun last season has been dramatic.

For a 10-year veteran of the Wenger era like Tomas Rosicky the difference is palpable.

He says: “Is it weird to come here without Arsene Wenger? It is a little bit, I have to say.

“He spent an unbelievable amount of time here and now has started something new for the whole club, a new era after Arsene Wenger. People have to be patient.

“The club is having to adjust. That’s normal when you start after something remarkable like what Arsene did. It’s still early days, only four games. There are some positives, some negatives. We’ll see how it goes in the future.

“He means a great deal, it’s impossible to avoid him here. Someone like me, who spent so much time with him, or the other guys here, we see him everywhere.

“If you come here it’s not possible to not think about him.”

Wenger may have moved on from management, for the time being at least, but he remains a font of knowledge for friends and former players.

Rosicky, taking his formative steps as a coach at Sparta Prague, has already turned to the Frenchman for counsel.

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“We exchanged some texts only but I haven’t seen him since he left,” he tells Standard Sport. “I needed recommendations about some players. He helped a lot.”

Like too many of his contemporaries, from Abou Diaby to Santi Cazorla, from the final decade of Wenger’s reign the warm memories of Rosicky’s peak are tinged with regrets for what might have been had injuries not so cruelly struck.

Though the ‘little Mozart’ made 247 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 28 goals and providing peerless passes and assists by the dozen, he never managed to play 40 games in a season, missing the entirety of the 2008-09 campaign and all bar 19 minutes of 2015-16.

In the aftermath of Cazorla’s remarkable interview with the Guardian Arsenal’s management of long-term injuries under Wenger has come under the microscope – though not the Frenchman’s caring approach for those battling injuries – but Rosicky has no criticism of how his manager dealt with his tendon troubles.

“He was very supportive with me even though it was tough for him. Of course it was tough for me as well.

“I’m glad I could have worked with him for such a long time. He’s a big role-model. I’m glad I know him.”

The 37-year-old never received a testimonial at Arsenal for his 10 years of service but was treated to the warmest of welcomes when his name was announced at the club’s charity legends match against Real Madrid to a cheer not even Robert Pires or Jens Lehmann could match.

“I think what they liked about me always was that I stayed loyal in the difficult times and I always gave everything on the pitch for the Arsenal. I’m glad they recognise it.

“There’s so many memories as soon as you step in here. It’s great to go back in time a little bit and to wear the Arsenal shirt again.”