Arsene Wenger: I was asked to drop Ramsey for home games

Arsene Wenger and Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he was asked to drop Aaron Ramsey whenever the club played at Emirates Stadium last season.

The then out of form midfielder was getting a lot of flak from impatient fans, especially when he was played on the wings.

Wenger said, “Let’s not forget that one year ago people were saying to me, ‘it’s difficult to play him at the Emirates’,” said Wenger.

“You could see there was an impatience with him at the Emirates. You always are, as a manager, in a period where you think: ‘Do I push him through and he can go more down, or do I give him a breather to regenerate, to get him a fresh start?’

“That’s always difficult for us to assess because it is linked to their mental state. When their own confidence is down, of course they are in trouble. But he is a confident boy.”

The Welsh midfielder has had a flying start to this season where he has already scored 11 goals in all competitions (including Champions League playoffs). He has already been voted Arsenal’s Player of the Month four times in a row this year by the fans.

Wenger continued, “You have to give him credit for that transformation because he could deal with that. He could come back, never give up, convince everybody that he has the needed quality.”