Though this may not seem the case, the point of this article is not to attack Aaron Ramsey. The aim here is to argue that the club would be better served by dropping him a little further down the pecking order and having him fight for his place in the squad.
With that in mind, allow me to justify this position. Whilst I understand that Aaron Ramsey is still young and has undergone a season-crippling injury, the truth is he just doesn’t offer this Arsenal side enough.
Regardless of talent any youngster would struggle should they be on the end of a leg-snapping Ryan Shawcross tackle and I don’t think anybody really expects him to be in full flow already. The problem is that he’s still getting a remarkable amount of game time and that the pressure on his shoulders this season has been remarkable.
Despite his lack of influence Aaron Ramsey has made an incredible 37 appearances this season and it’s beginning to look like Wenger can’t bear to take his name off the team sheet. Though he started strong he petered out as the season went on and his paltry return of 3 goals and 6 assists really isn’t good enough for the amount of game time he’s had.
He likes to try flicks and tricks, but the truth is he’s best suited keeping it simple and passing it to one of the Gunner’s more creative players. He also freezes up in front of goal and has to be one of Arsenal’s most wasteful players (and that’s saying something for a team who give Gervinho game time).
He was sent clean through on goal during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, opted not to pass to Robin Van Persie or the Ox who would have had a tap in, managed to beat a City defender take 2-3 seconds (which amounts to a lifetime in an opponent’s penalty area) and then smash the ball high and wide. It’s this lack of vision and composure that has fans so bemused that Wenger is constantly putting him on (he had 20 minutes of game time against City whilst the Ox only had 5).
Contrast him to Tomas Rosicky who has looked like a new player this season. He offers Arsenal some ingenuity in midfield, speed of thought, a great turn of pace, some tough tackling and great dribbling ability but best of all – directness. Whenever he receives the ball he’s always looking to be positive and to drive play forward. He’s exactly the kind of player that Arsenal need to be playing in the centre and that’s why he’s usurped Ramsey’s position.
So there’s no use playing Ramsey down the left where he sticks out like a sore thumb. Give him time to play his way back into contention. Give him a few weeks rest. Make him fight for his place.
What’s your take? Is Aaron Ramsey still a first-teamer?
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Brilliant ANALYSIS which the Prof should assimilate.
yeah… you’re not qualified to make this decision. I ahve issues with Ramsey sometimes but then i thought Alez Song was pants. If Sir Wenger plays he this much, there is a reason. Leave off the boy, I see him doing well for us in the coming seasons.
Sabrerat
And Ramsey’s selfishness is insufferable. In the last game of the 2011 calendar year, with Van Persie needing a single goal to reach the record for most goals in a year, he consistently refused to pass to Van Persie and instead kept taking his trademark pathetically weak shots. I don’t know any other Arsenal player who would have denied their striker a chance at the record, but Aaron Ramsey did, repeatedly. RVP’s face when Ramsey shot high and wide in injury time against Man City instead of passing said it all. What an utter twat Aaron Ramsey is.
totally agree,everytym u want 2 play rambo play oxlade until he learns 2 b more mature.up arsenal,lets hope we win 2day.
Sorry but TR was his normal self until he was played in his natural position (only recently) – not all season or in seasons prior. Look at his performance at Man U as a older head he was to put it bluntly a disgrace.
Ramsey is still not playing to his full ability but one thing is he never hides and although he has missed chances (RVP did until this year) he always gets into positions and makes himself available.
He works hard when he plays and is a player for the future with Jack.
Good analysis! I think the main problem with Aaron is that he is being played out of position. He doesn’t have a clue when he is playing as a winger. He should be our 2.choice AM, not start at the wing where we atleast got 5 players wich can fill the position in a much more satisfying way.
Come on you gunners!
My take is;there is probably a reason Arsene Wenger is one of the best coaches to ever grace the game and you are a third rate blogg…….just to humour you,if the reason of dropping him is his lack of confidence how does depriving him of game time build it up?give the lad some space,once the pressure to score lift and he eventually picks up a few assists then the goals will come through,but for this to happen you need to get of his back!
Total bollocks!!!
Certain Arsenal “fans” always have to have a scapegoat. This current obsession against Rambo is crazy. He’s a 21 year old who has contributed more to this team this season than many others. Just check out his stats. His pass success rate is higher than Song. His tackle success better than Arteta.The miles he runs every game is superb. The “fans” on his back only do so because he’s not a direct replacement for Cesc…… but people seem to forget that at 21 Cesc rarely scored either.
Ramsey will become an Arsenal legend.
Couldn’t have put it better, except that methinks Ramsey would never cut it at that level where all true Gooners want Arsenal to be.
His skill level is, as Arsene likes to say, ‘a bit short’. I’m sorry bur Aaron Ramsey is sub-par technically!!
Jesus. Where were you when theo was getting in the team at 16-19 yrs old? Ramsey is a completely different case. He works extremely hard in every game, and doesn’t give the ball away in dangerous areas. Sometimes he gives it away cheaply, but the same could be said for any of the midfielders and forwards. His shooting has been a bit poor recently, but the point is that he’s getting in positions to miss them. He has shown before that he’s a pretty decent finisher, so it’s just a matter of form/confidence.
And perhaps he has been slightly overused, but overall, he hasn’t done so badly at all. And it’s only been one season where the injury to wilshere has meant he’s had to play more games than was probably expected. Remember Rosicky has only started playing well over the past few weeks; it’s not like he’s been this great all season either. I remember when Theo was unable to keep ahold of the ball at all in games, and was giving it away in front of the defence – didn’t hear THIS much complaining at the time!
So to answer the title question: no, it has not reached levels of absurdity, far from it. When theo was younger, it did; and it did get to that stage with Arshavin as well, but it’s not long enough, and Ramsey hasn’t been poor enough for you to be asking that question of him.
Perhaps this is a sign of how well the team is doing at the moment. Perhaps, despite playing reasonably well, Ramsey has been the poorest of the main 1st team players, and is therefore the one to get the excessive criticism – it’s got to be someone! Djourou’s not played much, Eboue, Bendtner, Denilson and Almunia are not around – I guess it has to be Ramsey!
Why can’t we just say he’s talented, but he’s got a way to go yet, and let him be.
when you become a football manager of international renown, perhaps I’ll consider your opinion, son of a Duncan Castles.
“but the same could be said for any of the midfielders and forwards” *except arteta, to be fair
I’ve had enough of this Ramsey bashing!! He’s a good player, who spent over a YEAR out of ALL FORMS OF FOOTBALL. For him to come back and play as he has is good enough. I’ll admit that actually he seemed better before his injury but he will still only get better from here. Leave him alone and let him develop. Thank you.
How you can write this about someone who has played about one fifth of the games that useless turd Walcott has is absurd.
I like Ramsey but think hes a squad player at best, he is just to slow with his decision making for us. I would of personally played Yosi behind RVP and the Ox on the left but hey in Arsene we trust. Has anyone else realised that since Arsene said the Ox will go to the Euros hes stopped playing him? I understand the burnout excuse but not for so many games
Rambo is certainly not a left forward, i don’t even think he’s a central attacking midfielder. I think he’s a tidy central midfielder whos better off playing simple passes to our more creative players. Ramsay when in good positions does not have the vision or the technical ability to make any telling contributions. The amount of times this season, he’s running at defenders but stops and plays a sideways pass or backward pass indicates a lack of confidence and vision. That said, he works extrmemely hard off the ball and tracks back.
I’m certain Shawcross’ challenge is a huge reason for Rambo’s poor season. As he looked a tremendous player until he broke his leg. I agree with this blog however, i think Rambo is a squad player.
Ramsey has missed 12 chances since Christmas. Most midfielders don’t get 12 chances a season. When he starts scoring 15 goals a season what are the moaning thick going to do do—pick on someone else?
He will be an Arsenal great for many years– get behind him and watch the goals roll in.
Witless fucking bullshit.
thanks for the analysis mate, it is unfortunate that we have a fan talking nonsense like the gentleman talking about RVP and TR. Ramsey simply put; lack the imagination of a playmaker. He does not offer anything concret in midfield be it defensively or creativity. TR has played less than Ramsey and has put in a master performance. This is a player that did the same thing given the chance before his lengthy injury but Ramsey has reached his potential and if not, there is so much he can to to improve his game because the voids are astronomical. When Jack comes back it will mark the end of his first team action.
I know it may sound harsh but i wish Shawcross breaks his leg again. That’s how frustrating it is to watch him. Another stat that isn’t highlighted is his posession turn over and the fact that he has given the ball away 7 times in key areas which has lead to us conceeding.
The lad surely hasn’t got over his pscychological scars and trying to rehabilitate him by playing his is exactly what would chase away our key players.
You’d like to see his leg broken and you call yourself an Arsenal supporter? Where did we get this class of retard ‘supporting’ our team?