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“Why do we fall, Sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
This hackneyed quote from the Batman series is more than apt when applied to Arsenal’s latest fan favourite Aaron Ramsey’s career. From facing a horrifying, career threatening injury to getting slandered and picked on by fans of his own team, the Welsh lad has pretty much seen it all at an age when most players just about begin playing regular senior football for their clubs.
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Signed from Cardiff at the age of just 17, there was little question over the talent of the boyhood Manchester United fan who grew up idolizing his compatriot and United star Ryan Giggs. With Arsene Wenger and his eye for spotting the best young talent in Europe, a lot was expected from the Welsh teenager.
The horrific incident that still causes many an Arsenal fan to hurl abuse in the general direction of the Britannia Stadium was a significant one in Ramsey’s career. The double leg break caused by a reckless and rather unnecessary challenge from Ryan Shawcross, which became the reason for perpetual hatred for the Stoke defender among the Arsenal faithful, meant that Ramsey had to sit out for best part of an year.
The injury most certainly pushed back Ramsey’s progress quite a bit and coming at such a young age, must’ve been an absolute nightmare for him.
What is important to note at this stage is the absolute trust that the manager showed in the player’s abilities, offering him a new contract while he was still recuperating from injury. A winning goal against Manchester United soon after his return was the perfect way of showing gratitude to the manager and fans alike, for sticking with him throughout the course of his injury. However, he had huge shoes to fill when Cesc Fabregas left in the summer of 2011, and had a hard time coping with the added pressure.
The other major incident relevant to Ramsey was the sad and untimely demise of the man who had made a 20-year-old Ramsey captain of the Welsh national team, Welsh legend Gary Speed. The trust that Speed showed in Ramsey was significant in his development as a player, at one point the Welsh manager snubbed Wenger’s request of relieving Ramsey of captaincy of the national team. Wenger believed this would ease pressure off the young midfielder who had only recently returned from his injury.
It was in the 2012-13 season that Ramsey became a regular feature in the Arsenal side, with many blaming the manager for overusing him at times, which, they reasoned, led to a slump in his form. But with injuries always finding their way to The Emirates, Wenger had little choice but to use what was available to him, often having to field players out of position. It was precisely these circumstances which led to Ramsey being used as a right winger more often than he would’ve liked.
The situation couldn’t have been less propitious as fans made him the natural scapegoat, the one pilloried and criticized every time Arsenal put up a bad performance. Some trigger-happy fans (the likes of Piers Morgan) went on to label him a “failure” and a “liability”. The abuse Ramsey was subjected to was, more often than not, highly exaggerated and extremely unnecessary, nothing but a manifestation of the growing frustration among Arsenal fans over the “slow” start to the season.
The most recent phase of his career perhaps began at the fag end of last season, when Arsenal successfully managed to snub Spurs’ challenge for fourth place. Ramsey looked more comfortable on the ball than ever, perhaps owing to the fact that he had gained experience as a wide player, where the space is much lesser than in midfield. His passing and tackling had improved drastically and he showed promising signs of becoming a world-class ‘complete’ midfielder.
The way he has carried that form into this season has been commendable. He has been Arsenal’s best man in midfield so far this season, well corroborated by the fact that he has made 204 more passes than anyone else in the team and also made the most forward passes in the team.
Even with the arrival of Mesut Ozil, Ramsey’s contribution and presence hasn’t waned one bit and his early partnership with the German playmaker has had Arsenal fans licking their lips in anticipation of more of the same in days to come. Add to all this the 4 league goals he has scored already and you see yourself looking at a player who could very well be Arsene’s “next Cesc Fabregas”.
The talent and the drive to excel have always been there, the added confidence has been a welcome addition . Ramsey will run through the proverbial wall for the team if and when called upon, something that became quite apparent with his exceptional work rate towards the end of last season, even playing as a Right Back when the team needed him to.
I hope the confidence and good run of form can be translated to the kind of consistency that would see Ramsey cement his name among the best midfielders in the World in the near future. He has fallen, picked himself up, answered countless nitpickers and quibblers along the way and is worthy of all the accolades that he’s getting at the moment.
