Ramsey: First full season later

3 Seasons back, Arsenal were all praises for this lad who they touted as the next Fabregas for the club and in line to fill the captain’s shoes, should he leave the club. Aaron Ramsey was the name, Rambo his war cry. Ramsey was doing pretty well and living up to the hype in whatever limited chances he got, until the Feb 2010 visit to Stoke turned into a horrific night for this young man. A horrendous tackle by Stoke captain Shawcross saw Ramsey getting ruled out of action for a good part of 1 year.

During his absence, the crown of the next big thing in Arsenal midfield was passed on to Jack Wilshere, who had taken the opportunity of Ramsey being out of action with both hands, establishing himself as a key starting XI midfielder for the club. He eventually went on to win the Young Player of the Year award. At the start of the 2011-2012 season, a knee injury to Wilshere ruled him out for the season. With only 1 replacement (Arteta) against 2 outgoing players (Fabregas, Nasri) and one injured player (Wilshere – ruled out for the season), a huge responisibility fell upon Ramsey.

Ramsey was up for the challenge and had a solid start to the season. Taking over the captain’s armband for his national team Wales also saw a rise in his morale. But as the season progressed, Ramsey started looking more and more jaded. A midfielder who was supposed to fill in the shoes of Fabregas, displaying similar creative flair, was struggling to distribute the ball to his forwards. Many a times Ramsey seemed to slow down the fluency of an Arsenal attack by taking too much time on the ball. His intelligent presence around the opponent’s goal and the nack of latching onto loose balls was often let down by below par finishing.

Midway through the season, minor injuries and an exceptional rise in form of Rosicky saw Ramsey’s chances getting limited in the starting XI. With a solid trio of Song, Arteta and Rosicky in the midfield, Ramsey faced stiff competition for his place.

With Wilshere poised to make a return to the squad for the new season and claim his position back, times look very tough for Ramsey indeed. If Rosicky can carry on with the sparkling form of the 2011-12 season, it will be very difficult for Ramsey to breakthrough in the first team. Also, with rumor mills repeatedly linking M’villa to Arsenal, it is a hint that Wenger might actually be looking for a midfileder to add more steel to his side. And also, one cannot forget the likes of Diaby, who would also be available for Wenger after a season blighted by injuries.

As I look at it, if there’s a new midfielder coming in, Ramsey would be pushed down the pecking order. After all, a return of 3 goals and 6 assists in 44 appearances is not exactly what one expects from a player supposed to replace Fabregas/Nasri. We do need to consider though, that he made his return to top level football after missing out on action for almost 1.5 years and was immediately thrust upon with a huge responsibility. Ramsey needs to work real hard in the upcoming season to cement his place in the squad. With a solid first full season for Arsenal under his belt, there should be only one way for Ramsey to go, and that is up.

Ramsey has a golden opportunity in the form of Olympics Football, where he has been selected for Team Great Britain. With the other midfielders from Arsenal not participating he can make a strong case for himself by putting in some good performance and go one up against them for a starting berth in the first XI when the new campaign kicks off.