EPL: Why I’m getting Ramsey on the back of my shirt

Aaron Ramsey has made a sensational start to the campaign for Arsenal (Getty Images)

Those of you who read some of my posts regularly and follow me on Twitter will know that I have never bought a shirt with a players name on. I was once given a shirt with Ray Parlour’s name on it, but have never spent my own cash on an Arsenal shirt with a players name, but I think that is about to change.

I almost bought an Ashley Cole shirt about 4 months before he left for Chelsea, but something, call it divine intervention if you will, stopped me at the last minute and I got my usual “COWAN 4? (I know, I’m a grown man but I haven’t done that for the past 2 shirts so maybe I’m growing up).

You can imagine how thankful I was for not buying that shirt when ‘Cashley’ moved to Chelsea later that summer. Despite loyalty never really being a massive problem when I was growing up right through to the ‘Invincibles’ season, I was never compelled to buy a player’s shirt.

Players I have loved over the years and whose shirts I have considered buying have all left – Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, RvP (Robin van Persie for the uninitiated) – and I said that I would never consider buying a players shirt for the rest of my life, but always said that if I did, it would be Aaron Ramsey’s.

And now it seems that I will. We are probably going to change kit manufacturers next year so I should probably wait but when you can sell your old replica shirt and use the money to buy a new one why wait?

Regular readers and long-time Twitter followers will know that I have firmly been behind Ramsey since before he broke his leg and my support has never wavered.

Ramsey has had a blinding start to the season, but to those that have loved him for a long time they know that this is just an extension of the excellent form he has shown pretty much the whole of 2013.

The reason I am getting a Ramsey shirt is purely because he is my favourite Arsenal player. He has shown tremendous loyalty to Arsenal to fight his way into the team after a career threatening injury and make himself almost undroppable after signing a new contract committing his future to Arsenal, when a large proportion of supporters couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Ramsey has become one of the top midfielders in Europe and I couldn’t be happier for him.

His passing stats are incredible, he is bossing the midfield, making tackles, breaking down attacks, starting attacks, finishing attacks and generally making the team tick. So at some point in the next week or so I will be buying myself a RAMSEY 16 shirt and I will wear it with the pride and smugness of a man who has supported him throughout his career at Arsenal and not just now he is “little bit top top player”. I think I’ve earned the right to gloat a little.

Ramsey reported as saying he hopes RVP stays which I think shows what a top bloke he is especially after RVP singled him out for grief

@ke_kere_ekun @goaluk Djourou isn’t good. Ramsey is just out of form. He’ll be a world top 10 midfielder in 3 years just you wait & see

— Daniel Arsenal Cowan (@thedanielcowan) February 24, 2012

@Skid_64 Theo is inconsistent because he is played out of position. He isn’t a winger & never will be. Ramsey will be consistent — Daniel Arsenal Cowan (@thedanielcowan) September 19, 2011

Ramsey reported as saying he hopes RVP stays which I think shows what a top bloke he is especially after RVP singled him out for grief — Daniel Arsenal Cowan (@thedanielcowan) July 22, 2012

One day I’d like to say “do you remember when most people said Ramsey was shit?” and have people say “really? Are you shitting me?”

— Daniel Arsenal Cowan (@thedanielcowan) March 13, 2013

Ramsey is my new Parlour. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot give higher praise.

— Daniel Arsenal Cowan (@thedanielcowan) April 16, 2013