Aaron Ramsey was the scapegoat last season whenever anything went wrong on the field. Arsenal fans love to blame a player – Eboue, Denilson, Squillaci, Cygan, Silvestre etc. The difference is that Ramsey is a 21 year old returning from a horrific injury so should’ve been cut a bit more slack.
In 44 appearances last season, he managed three goals and eight assists – not bad for a player who lacked support from his own fans, was sometimes deployed out of position on the wing and was required to take the mantle as the creative hub of the team.
Although Wales weren’t in the Euros, Ramsey has been getting a decent work-out at the Olympics for Team GB. In fact, he’s probably getting a more intense pre-season than any of the other Arsenal players.
101greatgoals.com has published this video of Ramsey against the UAE. They won 3-1 as Ramsey played from the right of midfield – often shifting into a more central position. He created a handful of chances and made some superb runs on the right touchline. His cheeky quick free-kick set up a chance for Cleverley.
He kept the ball well with a mixture of forward and backward passes. Defensively he seemed to have less of an effect on the game, but that could be because Team GB were quite dominant.
Here’s the video, you should definitely check it out:
It’s all very well if Ramsey is having a strong Olympics – he reportedly had a great game tonight against Uruguay, although I haven’t seen it – but how will he fare for Arsenal?
With the impending transfer of Cazorla and potentially Sahin, Arsene will have plenty of midfield options next season. We have the following players who can play in a midfield of 3 or 4:
- Wilshere
- Arteta
- Song
- Diaby
- Coquelin
- Arshavin (could leave)
- Walcott (could leave)
- Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Gervinho
- Santos
- Rosicky
- Ramsey
- Frimpong(could go on loan)
- Lansbury (could leave/go on loan)
- Miyaichi (could go on loan)
That’s a lot of options in midfield. If we add in one/two transfers, then Wenger will have to sell a few players to make space in the 23 man squad. Furthermore, where does it leave 21 year old Ramsey?
The fans that want to sell him are not bearing in mind that Ramsey is still young and has a bright future ahead of him – he’s the Welsh captain! Some people think we should send him on loan, but he has to go to a Premier League club and it would be a step down from 44 appearances last season. Personally, I think Ramsey should be included in the squad because he plays in a position not many of our midfielders can play in. He is a box-to-box midfielder with a great eye for a pass and plenty of energy. He is most similar in style to Rosicky and Wilshere, but the former is getting older and the latter is likely to miss a chunk of the season due to injury. Many of the midfielders listed above are wide-men or attacking players. Ramsey could play deeper; he could occupy the DM role that M’Vila would fill if he were to arrive.
In fact, a midfield of Ramsey, Arteta and Song/Diaby/Wilshere would give a nice balance of attack and defence – the trio could fluidly switch roles when necessary. In a four-man midfield, the two central midfielders could be Song and Ramsey/Arteta, who would be required to sit back whilst the wide, attacking midfielders (i.e. Walcott, Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain) push forward.
I think Ramsey could be an essential part of the squad next season – although I can’t imagine him starting nearly as much as he did last campaign.
What do you think we should do with Ramsey? Answer in the poll below:
Sorry but i don’t agree esp with ramsey as a DM. His positional awareness of the ball is not strong and he NEVER goes in for a sliding challenge since his leg break. for me his role will be of the bench impact player and also a game or two starting winger if we need a technical winger or perhaps AM.
I would not say no to a prem loan where he could get starts it would do him the world of good. Yes he has a future at arsenal BUT he need to pick up his awareness esp. defensively and get stuck in a bit more…
Have you seen the difference in Arsenal team performance between when he started and when he didn’t? We had a team win % of around 70% when Ramsey was NOT in the team compared to less than 40% when he was! And the teams we played when he was not in the team incl the likes of Spurs, Liverpool and Man City. So an easy schedule could not be used as an excuse. He was awful the whole season.
He has been quite average in the Olympics and before you get all nostalgic. This is a glorified under 21 tournament that most big countries don’t give a t0ss about. Ramsey needs to go out on loan and prove he can still do it at a speed faster than walking pace. Last year showed he is not near the player that had so much promise before getting injured. I don’t think he is ever getting his pace back that is essential in the role he plays.
Sorry Mark you are full of sh*t and just regurgitating the popular misconceptions.
Ramsey versus Rosicky versus Ox
Pass success rate 87 v 85 v 84%
Key passes 1.6 v 1.5 v 0.7
average passes per game 57 v 46 v 15
long balls 3.1 v 1.3 v 1.1
shots per game 1.8 v 1.4 v 0.9
Like the author says, a scape goat for people who don’t have the intelligence to know better.
Compare him to Denilson. Denilson will beat him every stat. As a famous politician once said. Lies, Damn Lies and then there are statistics. I can discount every stat you mention because his problem is not measurable unless you look at the overall team affect. Ramsey slows the play down. Its no surprise that he looks better in such an awful slow tournament because his weakness is not exposed. He has lost his change of pace.
@Mark Your logic is total crap at best. Ramsey started the two first choice were out, maybe three depending on where you take off. Do you truly think it was Ramsey’s inclusion was the reason for the dropped points? You should also look at the starting back four when he deputized. He will be mammoth he is 21 and at 24 we will be telling barca and manu to blow it because he has Arsenal DNA.
Love
The wander
How many times Ramsey lets striker pass him last year and he can’t catch them?
PL is much more faster tempo than Olympics games.