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When Manchester United visited the Emirates stadium in April the end of last season (now that the season has ended), as much as it was about a certain you know who returning back to his old hunting ground and the commotion surrounding the Guard of Honour by the home team, it was also about a young Welsh midfielder, Aaron Ramsey who almost two years ago, had marked his return back to the game from a serious injury with the solitary winning goal against the same team he was about to play this evening. It’s safe to say that since then, Ramsey’s brief career has come a full circle of sorts.
In the summer of 2008, Arsenal managed to fend off interests from the likes of Everton and Manchester United to secure the signature of the 17-year-old Ramsey, who came with a soaring reputation of an extremely versatile midfielder; a player with a fantastic engine, good technique and vision. A spell of impressive performances followed, the Arsenal faithful began to realise that the hype surrounding the young bloke from Cardiff might just have been justified. Wenger seemed impressed:
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“I think he’s an offence-minded Roy Keane who possesses a fantastic ability to cover distances.”
His surge, though, like all good things, came to a horrific halt on an unfortunate night in February, 2010 after a mistimed Ryan Shawcross tackle shattered his right leg, resulting in nine moths out of the game. A rehabilitation programme was undertaken and doubts were cast if the Welshman would ever recuperate back to his earlier best. A couple of short loan spells followed as he finally donned an Arsenal shirt again towards the end of the 2010-11 season, putting some reservations to rest.
An unsettling summer at the club comprised of the departures of captain Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, while Jack Wilshere (who was initially behind Ramsey in the pecking order) had been mightily impressive in his debut season at the club, but was now out with a long term injury. In came Aaron Ramsey into the fray, who found himself in the company of a relatively new midfield combination in the form of Song and Arteta. And with Wenger deploying a 4-2-1-3 formation, Ramsey found himself in a role left vacant by Fabregas, who, safe to say, had been truly world class (one of the best in Europe) in that position during his time at the club.
Passing the baton? Not really
Consequently, with the void left behind by their ex-talisman, Ramsey emerged on to the scene with enormous amount of expectations banking on him. Although he managed to impress initially with some crucial performances, fatigue began to creep in and he gradually began to become a scapegoat for Arsenal’s poor showings. Often accused of taking an extra touch of the ball, slowing down the tempo of the game and frequently found guilty of sloppy giveaways and careless passing, he found himself on the receiving end of a lot of flak from the Arsenal faithful, some of which was justified too.
The death of his mentor and idol Gary Speed, who gave him the Welsh armband, and being played out of position didn’t help the matter either. What worked in Ramsey’s favour though was his industrious nature and the determination to work his socks off, irrespective of how good or bad a game was turning out to be. And what Arsenal had at their disposal was an emotionally ravaged 21-year-old talent, who had survived a terrible injury, was becoming increasingly frustrating to watch, couldn’t finish off a goal to save his life and whose best playing position was not yet known. Piece of cake.
In happier times: Ramsey with the winner against Marseille
2012-13 kicked in and the departure of Alex Song along with the arrival of Santi Cazorla from Malaga resulted in further shuffling across the midfield. With Abou Diaby starting the season well for the Gunners, Ramsey found himself playing out wide on the left again, probably due to his efficiency and the defensive cover he brought to the game. But ‘Rambo’ found himself in familiar territory again, with his seeming lack of pace and dearth of creativity repeatedly exposing him to the wrath of Arsenal fans who ruled him out as merely a squad player, not a footballer who deserved to start week in, week out.
A change in his fortunes, though, came after the turn of the year when Wenger deployed him in the central midfield role alongside team stalwart Mikel Arteta in a double pivot. While the hard tackling Arteta plays a deeper role being his usual self with his prowess to distribute the ball acting as a cover in front of defence, Ramsey benefits from Arteta’s discipline, excelling in a box-to-box role. The Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich was a huge testament to the effectiveness of this new system. Since then, Ramsey has been an essential cog in their late surge for a Champions League spot which saw them take 26 points in the last ten games.
Against Everton: Here, There, Everywhere
With his new found ‘free’ role in the team and an indomitable work ethic, Ramsey averaged 1.8 chances per game, managing a passing accuracy of 87% since the defeat at White Hart Lane. Individual errors had been dramatically phased out from his game with a incredible tackling rate of 90.74%. Impressive, especially from a guy whose performances had come under so much criticism lately.
Despite all his shortcomings and limitations, a trait which is hardly spoken of is his attitude towards the game. When Theo Walcott was running rings around the club with his apprehensions towards signing a new contract and grumbled to play in position of his choice, here was a guy who, without any fuss, signed an extension, showing a sense of gratitude towards the club which had stood by him through it all. No wage hike demands, no sulking, no nonsense, nothing.
He has managed to cap off a bitter-sweet season with a Player of the Month award by his own set of fans which is hopefully, a sign of better things to come. Next season will be instrumental in proving the fact that the late string of impressive outings weren’t merely a fluke but a genuine transformation. No more a liability, more like a necessity. One Aaron Ramsey.
