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Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been talking about his exit from the club to BBC Sport, and has said there was “a lot of confusion” before his departure.
What did he say?
The Wales international spent 11 years at the Emirates Stadium after signing from Cardiff City in 2008. During his time there, he made 371 appearances, scoring 65 goals.
It looked as though he would be staying in north London beyond the end of last season too, but the contract he was offered was then retracted. As such, he moved on to Serie A champions Juventus on a free transfer.
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He was asked by BBC Sport whether the decision to take back the deal was explained to him, he said,
“Yes. It was in the end. There was a lot of confusion and a lot of things were up in the air. The decision was made and that was the situation, so I had to look at other options. Arsenal are going through a transitional period at the moment.
“They have many great players and a lot of talent coming through. They are definitely going in the right direction – but my situation now is at Juventus. I have an unbelievable opportunity at a massive club. I just want to be part of this now. Hopefully I can help my team-mates and my club achieve some great things on the big stage.”
A running theme
It makes little sense as to why the Emirates Stadium club would change their minds on the 28-year-old, especially considering how long he had spent at the club. It comes across as quite disrespectful to Ramsey, and he deserves better.
This decision is likely to have come, in part, from Unai Emery. In regards to the former Sevilla boss, it is becoming clear that he does not seem to have much trust for his creative, technical central/attacking midfielders.
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Last season, Ramsey made just 28 starts in all competitions under Emery, who was in his first season as Arsenal’s manager.
His record of six goals and assists across the campaign was not too bad, yet his boss obviously felt he could not offer him enough in the starting XI.
Mesut Ozil, the Gunners’ other main attacking midfield option, made just 20 starts under the 47-year-old, the least of any season he has spent in north London.
The same situation is repeating itself with Dani Ceballos too.
The on-loan Real Madrid midfielder has started just 50% of games this season, which is unlikely to be what he expected.
It appears that Emery prefers to put his trust in his more pragmatic midfielders like Matteo Guendouzi – who has been included in the starting XI for every match in the Premier League so far this term – instead of deploying more attack-minded players centrally.
That’s also backed up by the reliance on Granit Xhaka who has been handed the captaincy too.
Ramsey seems to be adapting to life in Italy quite well, recently scoring his first goal for his new club. It remains to be seen whether he can impress long-term with the Old Lady, but his departure clearly shows a worrying trend for attacking midfielders at the Emirates Stadium.