Last season was very strange for Aaron Ramsey in many respects, on the back of delivering Arsenal’s first piece of silverware in nine years with an extra-time winner over Hull in the 2014 FA Cup final. The hope was for him to kick on in the same heroic fashion, but amid an abundance of change in his life – from adapting to a new contract at the club to the hype now attached to his name – he found meeting the inflated expectations rather difficult. Fans showed little sign of support while he struggled to find form, only a few months removed from his contributions at Wembley, and exacerbated the situation with unwarranted scepticism. In much the same fashion as his horrific double leg break in 2010, Ramsey utilised the adversity to his benefit after spending time on the sidelines recovering from hamstring trouble. He returned to the fold in February set on proving his doubters wrong and determined to silence them with emphasis.
He succeeded in that endeavour, and shortly thereafter the same observers that peppered him with hate during his worst months began to admire his resilience surrounded by such scrutiny. Ramsey’s comeback coincided with Santi Cazorla mesmerising centrally, so he was stationed out on the unfamiliar right-wing for what remained of the 2014/15 campaign. Although most comfortable in his favoured box-to-box role, he gained a lot from the reduced intensity and focus that came with his newfound position. What went so disastrously wrong for the Welsh international during his rough patch can attributed to a number of different factors, however on the pitch his inability to master the fundamentals was perhaps most evident. Desperate to convince the world that he was the same outstanding player of before, he would so often attempt the spectacular and fall short – failing to relax and ignorant of the safer option with the ball at his feet. Simplifying things became a significant deal easier without the ceaseless spotlight that comes with operating centrally.
While he did reap some rewards from Arsène Wenger’s tactical switch, Ramsey left no doubt about where he preferred to impact games from, and this term that is what we should see for the most part. Francis Coquelin has essentially locked up the starting spot protecting the back-line, but the place next to him – presuming Le Prof deploys a 4-2-3-1 system with Özil behind the striker – is there for the taking. That’s where the boy from Caerphilly aspires to play the majority of his football, with the license to both maraud forward and get back to support Coquelin when the Gunners are without possession. He starred as a number 8 throughout his breakthrough 2013/14 season, and certainly has the physical endurance to do so alongside the Frenchman in the engine-room. Cazorla will challenge the 24-year-old though, offering something entirely different – with more creative responsibilities – next to the anchorman. One of many selection headaches facing the boss at the moment.
If Ramsey and Coq do indeed become the first choice pairing, the former will have to put in extra work to complement his partner. What earned Cazorla the nod towards the tail end of last season was how he achieved that, dropping deep to start moves because of Francis’ limitations distributing the ball. Aaron will have to make similar adjustments, collecting the ball deeper than when he’s been coupled with the metronomic Mikel Arteta. Though we have a small sample size to draw conclusions from in 2014/15, Wenger elected to go down this avenue for the Emirates Cup meeting with Lyon. One particular example of their link-up to be encouraged by was Arsenal’s second goal – Coquelin broke up the play on the edge of Emiliano Martinez’s box before making a short pass across to Ramsey. The former Cardiff City prodigy beat the midfield press with a fine piece of individual skill and played the ball through to Olivier Giroud, who held up possession terrifically prior to sending Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in behind to double the lead.
There is value to this sort of transition in every match, but somewhere we could see this prowess especially pay dividends is in the big games where the wisest strategy can be to forfeit possession and prioritise structure. Case in point: the 2-0 win at the Etihad where the team claimed maximum points with only 35% of the ball. Arsène had to exhibit that flexibility, having witnessed opposing coaches exploit his tactical naivety for some time, and did so to great effect against Manuel Pellegrini that day. Arsenal have appropriate personnel for this going forward in Coquelin to create the turnover, Ramsey to dribble into the vacated space, Giroud to invite numbers forward with his back to goal, and players like Oxlade-Chamberlain to make the most of that by finishing the move. Throw in Mesut Özil, at his best within the counter-attack during his time in Madrid, and the side have every chance to contend in the biggest occasions over coming months.
Another instance that excited fans during that contest with Lyon was Ramsey’s goal on the end of a quite extraordinary 1-2 with Özil. Aaron passes into the space down the left flank for the German World Cup winner to latch onto, and proceeds to make a lung-busting run from the defensive third. Mesut recognises this by patiently moving inward, then plays in his colleague impeccably as he splits the two centre-backs with perfectly timed movement. Rambo pokes home for the 4-0 score-line; the French visitors utterly devastated by just two passes in an attacking move imbued with exceptional mutual understanding. We’ve seen many glimpses of this relationship blossoming, however that now seems to have culminated with the long awaited final product. When you have two players as intelligent as these guys you’re very fortunate, but when they can combine their advanced reading of the game in harmony – something that isn’t exclusive to star power – you can consider yourself blessed by the footballing gods to some degree.
Maintaining production is always important from the adventurous midfield options and Ramsey is no exception to that. His goal-scoring, or at least shot volume, may take a hit to some extent as he attempts to create balance with Coquelin. He will have to come back to start attacks if he wants to retain his favourite role in the midfield – that might take some getting used to – but once that has been established there will be greater scope for him to commit to the attack. Aaron labelled the former Lorient man his insurance a few months back, waxing lyrically about the freedom Francis affords him. It’s true that he does offer that incentive to take risks moving forward insomuch that his positioning and discipline make the team much less susceptible when the opposition break. If Wenger doesn’t go out of his way to acquire a 30-goal per season frontman, sticking with the strikers currently at his disposal, there will be extra onus on Ramsey to beat keepers with regularity. There’s pressure to that of course, yet should he deliver goals with consistency he’ll become invaluable to his manager. Both Özil and Coquelin can help him in this respect to reach Europe’s elite class of box-to-box midfielders.
Much was made of Aaron’s comments regarding the reported interest from Barça in a recent feature by the Guardian. He admitted that one day he would like to ply his trade in Spain “just to see what it’s like”, upsetting certain sections of the fan base on the verge of what could be his most important season in North London. It’s an understandable reaction considering the whole Cesc Fabregas saga and the heartache it caused, however the quote shouldn’t cause any real concern. Instead, his words were indicative of his aspirations to be one of the best on the planet; a confidence fuelled by accomplishments with his national team during the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. In large part thanks to his influence, Wales are on the brink of playing in their first major tournament since 1958 and the hope he’s extended to his home country is reason for him to speak with such enthusiasm.
Ramsey concluded that particular topic of the discussion by promoting Arsenal’s credentials to achieve great things this campaign. He can play an integral part in fulfilling the club’s lofty ambitions whilst meeting his own goals at the same time, and everyone will be waiting in anticipation to watch both eventuate over the course of the next twelve months. There’s no doubt about it – Aaron is going to reach levels no one ever thought possible in the very near future.
