Is this Arsenal youngster on the way to being ‘the next Cesc Fabregas’?

Despite Arsene Wenger stating that he would do his best to keep Cesc Fabregas this summer, one cannot hide the fact that the 24-year-old is still being chased by Barcelona and that the Spaniard himself wants to go.

So, when he eventually leaves us, Arsenal will be losing their creative linchpin and Wenger will have a lot of work to do before he finds a replacement for Fabregas.

The Frenchman will have money to spend if he has a replacement in mind. But this is unlikely to happen. To be honest, spending on a creative midfielder will be Arsenal’s last priority this summer. For in our ranks, we have two amazing youth products ready to drive the team forward. While Jack Wilshere has already become a sure starter in the deep playmaker role, Aaron Ramsey is still on the comeback trail and will be trying to establish himself as a first-team regular this season.

Ramsey’s importance will become even higher if Samir Nasri also decides to jump ship. And the Wales captain has shown the right attitude by claiming that he wants to make himself a regular starter irrespective of the players Arsenal will have next season.

Ramsey recently stated:

‘I’m going to give it everything to start the season and hopefully stay in the team. I want to be a starter so, if given the opportunity I will give my best to keep the shirt. At the end of last season I was just getting back into the swing of things. I put in a couple of good performances so hopefully now I can have a good pre-season and produce those types of performances week-in, week-out.’

This is some form of evidence that Ramsey is determined to make things happen for himself. He may not be as technically gifted as Fabregas, but having gone through a very tough period at the age of 20, Ramsey is bound to be a mentally tough, and this was evident in his performance against Manchester United at the Emirates last season. Many believe that Ramsey performs best in the ‘hole’, so I ask – is he the guy to replace our captain?

2009/10 was a breakthrough year for Ramsey. Seen as a young talent until then, he made several eye catching performances and was making a name for himself in the Arsenal midfield. It was then that disaster struck.

Ryan Shawcross, the young Stoke defender, made an unwanted attempt to gain possession and all he managed to do was catch Ramsey’s leg, which resulted in a double leg break for the Welshman. Arsenal were left shell shocked as Ramsey was ruled out for over a year and the future of a bright young talent looked bleak.

With Wilshere’s emergence, Arsenal did not really miss Ramsey too much.

The Welsh youngster had to go through an agonizing period that he never really deserved. He held himself together in that period and started training towards the end of last year. Anyone who survives such a traumatic period will be a tough guy mentally and will be fired up to return to the pitch. Ramsey’s future looked uncertain during this period, but he has put those dark days behind him and is now ready for action.

Ramsey is also a highly skilful player. In the Arsenal mould, he is blessed with a great technique and possesses a fantastic range of passing. He is a Lampard type player – a box to box midfielder making late runs into the penalty area and bagging a goal. He has lots of creativity, and like Wilshere, is not afraid to run at opponents and make rough tackles. For someone coming out of such an injury, it was heartening to see that he still had the desire to take on defenders and commit to a tackle. Such injuries create a mental block and you are never the same player again because you tend to remember that injury whenever a defender decides to tackle you or you try to dribble past them. Fortunately, Ramsey is made of sterner stuff and it seems he has no fears of getting injured when he plays.

Though he has looked assured and confident in the few matches he played last season, it is still early to pass a judgement on the 20-year-old. You never know how such injuries affect the players in the long run – Rosicky and Eduardo are perfect examples. But I can see Ramsey having no such problems. He will form a fantastic partnership with Wilshere that could form the core of Arsenal’s line-up for several years to come.

I strongly believe that the Wales international is the successor to Fabregas, and Arsenal are lucky to have such a young and talented replacement within their ranks.

Written by Vivek Arulnathan for Gunnersphere.com. Like what you read? Then follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/gunnerviv

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