Unlike most Arsenal fans, the Wales international midfielder Aaron Ramsey seems very relaxed about the lack of action from the Gunners in the transfer market. With just the Czech Republic number one added to the Arsenal first team so far, Rambo is full of confidence that we already have what it takes to challenge last season’s champions and beat Chelsea to the Premier League title.
The 24-year old told Sky Sports the reason for his confidence was mainly down to the fact that the club appears to have solved the recurring injury problems that have been hitting us so hard in recent years. Ramsey knows what he is talking about as well because he has been one of the many players affected by these recurring issues and so has spent more than his fair share of time in the Arsenal treatment room.
The Welshman said, “We have a great squad at the moment as long as we keep everyone fit, our form in the second half of last season was good but it’s what you need throughout the whole season to compete.
“Hopefully we can do that and get off to a good start this season and put ourselves in a great position early on and we know we have the players and the quality to hurt other teams and get points.
“There is no question about our ability but it’s about whether we can keep everyone fit and I am fairly confident we can. Chelsea were top mainly all the way through, they hardly slipped up and that is what we have to try and do.”
Ramsey also had a little advice for Arsene Wenger, suggesting that the boss would do well to let him show what he can do in his preferred position as the box to box midfielder rather than sticking him out on the wing as he did towards the end of last season.
He said, “Of course I prefer the middle and I make no secret of that. I was asked to do a job at the back end of last season on the right by the manager and I felt I did and had an impact in games. But my favourite position is in the middle and that is what I want to get back too.”
We will soon see just what the Frenchman wants his team to look like though, after the squad flew out today to start the pre-season tour. Will Ramsey get his wish and will he be proved right about the injury situation and our title challenge?
Title is a tad misleading as in the interview Aaron simply wants Arsenal to concretely challenge first then see where things fall, he’s being respectful of them beings champions but is letting them know we plan to put up more of a fight this term which is as level headed a stance you can take.
However Ramsey as well as the rest of our team need to realize we lost too many points away from home to tough opposition. The fact that we won only 2 away matches vs the top 11 is a damning reflection of where we need to improve as a team. The inexplicable losses to Stoke, Southampton and Swansea come to mind Moreover we didn’t beat a single top 5 opponent at home which further drives home the point.
With the right signings and mentality we can win but it isn’t Chelsea alone we have to worry about.
Hopefully Wegner makes solid additions and we are prepared for a tough season ahead
all these talk of scwientieger going to make manure better than us are rubbish. a 30 yr old who gonna turn 31 next month that was benched by guiodorla last season is better than Ramsey?? not taking anything away from him however as his past achievement shows I think he is not a player that should be making us shiiit in our undies. he is been hail just because of his past achievement for Bayern years back even when we signed oil we didn’t win the title afterward. we shouldn’t vent our frustration for Wenger not signing players saying that other teams signing are better than ours.
*when we signed Ozil*
Yeah yeah, we heard a lot of noise when they signed Falcao too.
While I get what you’re saying you really can’t compare our midfield back then to United’s now. Secondly it isn’t the sole signing of Schweinsteiger that should have anyone worried. It’s the cumulative effect. United now have a formidable midfield and you’d be kidding yourself if you thought otherwise.
The age of players is proving less and less of an issue these days, Terry, Alonso, Ivanovic, Ibrahimovic and others are all proof of this. Our very own Cazorla stands as a testament to that.
Remember as much as we’d like to convince ourselves that United is worth overlooking that isn’t the case. United finished just behind us, we like to chalk that up to injuries but United had an injury crisis worse than our own.
Trust me, age’s still a factor especially when your biggest strength is in your all action style of play, that is not to say he does not make them stronger but maybe we shouldn’t make too much of it too. Let’s imagine having Cech in our team last season, and they had Schweinsteiger and Shneiderlin last season, Mancity had Sterling, where exactly would we all have been on the table? Thumbs up if you think we would have finished third or higher, thumbs down if you think we would have finished below United in 4th.
United with Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin may very well have finished above us objectively speaking. United’s game plan fell apart once Carrick went out injured, United with a central midfield was an entirely different team. With Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin they may very well have gotten more points, especially since even Rooney had to play in central midfield more than a few times.
As for us bar the howler Szczez had at Southampton you don’t remember him having many glaring errors and at any rate Ospina was one of the best keepers in the second half of the season.
Objectively speaking with the signings United have made now in comparison to Cech it would be a strong possibility United would have finished above us last season.
You do have a point and I cannot honestly disagree with that but with figure like Cech I would like to think that we’d have more confidence going forward and pinning back teams, watch Sczezny, he almost deliberately invites attacks to show off his reflexes, Ospina came in and cut that crap especially by constantly organizing his defense but physically not built up enough for a world class goalkeeper, we lost three points to Swansea for that reason [Befitimbi Gomis’ goal-line technology goal?] he was well positioned but could not reach the ball effectively. Cech from all available evidence brings the best of both plus battle hardened experience.
I agree with you…but I don’t think we need too many additions accept maybe Vidal and a proper LW to win the league,
We have so many on form players raring to go, that if we stay fit, I think we will blow everyone away.
Our strike force of Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck is not too shabby.
Our wingers Sanchez ( 🙂 ), Ox, Gnabry, and a LW addition (plus welbz and Wal can slot in) are formidable…pace, skill and drive
Our creative mid of Ozil, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshire is better than most
Our defensive mid of Coq, Arteta, and Flamini is why I think Vidal could be key, even though he is a box to box
Our Fullbacks Bellerin, Debuchy, Gibbs and Monreal are ALL starters
Our CBs Kos ( 🙂 ), Mert, Gabriel and Chambers are all class
And our GKs Cech, Ospina and Scz are also all starters….
Not to mention all our talented youts….Akpon etc.
Sorry if I missed anyone but DAMN, if they all stay fit we have one of the strongest squads, and is proven in little bursts during the last couple of seasons….We just need to stay injury free and focused and i think Ramsey has a point. THIS IS OUR TIME. COYG !!!
OT: fellow gooners what do you think of the our latest “linked” player jose callejon of napoli?
price; 25mill euros
Non-story, doesn’t represent the quality we’re aiming for.
We could do better! The last time I checked he was a winger at RM behind Jesse in the pecking order has he now transformed into an ST worthy of getting the mighty Arsenal the EPL and UCL?
Reus is not an all out ST but he would be my first choice of forwards, followed by Benz, Lacazzete (sp), Albuyang, etc.
Damnit! He is not just good enough
Sceszny at it again. boy man up!!!
CaLlejon? Why don’t we just re-signs Chamack and Bentner??? Stupid rumours.
We can do better…
thank you for your opinions. just wanted to know what y’all think. i too prefer reus and/or lacazzette. but its saddening to see nothing happen. apparently liverpool wanna spend the money they get for sterling to get reus. now lvg wants cavani. its not my concern who our opponents sign, but we all know that if those two clubs sign those two players…..our defenders will have to face costa, kane, aguero, falcao, cavani, reus, etc in the league and at some point we will call our defenders shitty….do you get my point, meanwhile they get to face giroud…..
Liverpool already spent there sterling money
I respect his view but i don’t agree with him in any way..I mean look at carzola, he says outright without hiding that we need a striker…about finishing strongly, we did that last season and the season after and the other after after a first leg screw-up…maybe ramsey loves his friends in the dressing room but saying that we need a few quality wouldn’t have hurt anyone…we weren’t able to beat the chelsea that hez talking about at home even with a full squad so i don’t get his reference plus other teams are strengthening strongly and will only get better…man utd with a mediocre team played us like we were some kids FH at OT and we had no injuries…IF WE DONT SIGN STRIKER we are doomed cz it’l be harder to beat even the small teams
We’ve passed on THE most Arsenal transfer we could’ve got this summer in Schneiderlin, all logic now points to us aiming for a truly stellar attacking option. I genuinely think Wenger sees Coquelin/Arteta/Flam as enough for DM (I disagree there), and he’d rather spend the bulk on a ST/Forward and possibly a defender should someone depart.
Some fans are getting far too tetchy about transfers however. I think people need to just sit back and let the next 10 days play out rather than sit and condemn Arsene etc. I think we’ll see a Reus/Benz/Higuain join this summer.
Cech alone can’t win us the league. We definitely need additions to our current squad. We all know what we need, but why can’t Wenger see it?
True an injury free squad with Ramsey, Jack, Gibbs, Theo, Ox and Welbz (the English core funny enough) would be great for our team. All these players apart from Rambo still have a little proving to be done and to force there way into he first team.
I love Rambo been in the team though at the moment I wouldn’t want to disturb the awesome pairing of Santi and Coq in the middle. Good internal battles ahead.
If we can secure another forward, preferably a quality ST and possibly another DM, and avoid injuries we would all be optimist of securing major titles, at the moment the chances are not as favorable as the players and our manager want to make it seem.
Off topic.
ManUre just got Schneiderlin. Correct me if I’m wrong, they already have Schweini, Ander Herrera, Fellaini, and Phil Jones, all play as DMF. Funny, the still don’t have a real playmaker. Hilarious panic buying by LVG.
Panic buying? They don’t have a real playmaker?…..Are you clueless? Juan Mata, Di Maria….
They needed a Rb….got one
Then needed presence in the heart of the pitch….got 2
LvG had a very suspect first year in the prem but nobody can question his business so far in the window bearing in mind how much time is left to go. In fact I’ll go so far to say I can almost see where he was coming from last season in both transfers and approach.
He was arrogant enough to think whatever he had to use he could do well with (overstated himself but still managed CL), so he added some star power (some good, some bad) and tinkered all year long with systems and players. Now he knows where the squad lacks and he’s systematically addressing each deficiency so far this window. Really struggling to see how you can attempt to call anything he’s doing panicking.
With panic buys like that, who needs calm? 🙂
Phil Jones is a CB. Schneiderlin is a box to box midfielder as is Schweinsteiger. Fellaini’s best role has always been slightly ahead of central midfield as he has always been a good outlet, it’s where he excelled at Everton and what prompted United’s resurgence under LVG. Ander Herrera was played in central midfield during Carrick’s injury.
Manchester United don’t have an out and out defensive midfielder, of the top 6 teams only us and Chelsea have defensive midfielders, that are used properly anyway. Yaya has always been a CM, City play him beside another CM which makes little sense, but when the actual DM they have is needed they give him b2b duties.
As for playmakers their entire midfield is good on the ball and any one of them are able to do so. This is even discounting Mata and Di Maria and it is to alleviate United’s impotence. With Carrick out United lost a lot of their creativity, the new signings are to address that, hence no actual DM in midfield but a combative b2b in Schneiderlin
Off topic.
ManUre just got Schneiderlin. Correct me if I’m wrong, they already have Schweini, Ander Herrera, Fellaini, and Phil Jones, all play as DMF. Funny, they still don’t have a real playmaker. Hilarious panic buying by LVG.
Are you a parrot? 😀 lol just write “*they” next time in the reply lol
CaLlejon? Why don’t we just re-signs Chamack and Bentner??? Stupid rumours.
Not really. And I’m a Ramsey fan.
If United, Chelsea, City make quite a few big signings and we just make one, logically we should have a more difficult time challenging for 1st.
At the start of the season, Chelsea, City and United will have a WC CF. We MUST get one to compete. it’s simple as that.
United have both Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin. We just have Coquelin, who is very good but we need backup in case he gets injured.
If we had got Schweinsteiger or Schneiderlin and Jackson Martinez, then the job would have been done. Those two plus Cech would have cost around £55 million. Really good business and we could challenge for the title.
Now our choices are more limited (Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Kondogbia, Dybala, Martinez are all gone) but we can still have an excellent transfer window. It’s not too late.
DM
Carvalho
Krychowiak
Vidal
Lars Bender
Sven Bender
CF
Benzema
Cavani
Lacazette
Ibrahimovic
Higuain
INJURY FREE
Rosicky already out for start of the season.
He should change his name to Sicky.
Wenger and the mgt keep ranting how we now have money but when,it comes to biding wars they start shivering like a bunch of pussies.I remember no single comment section here the dm schinederin was not mentioned here,now he has gone to utd deluded fan say utd didnt win title after spending last time.They spent and improved from no.7 To 4 now they will challenging for title no doubt,next season will be tough rivals are strengtheng,wenger has his usual new signing from injuries.I dont care wether we add more players,but will be akb till wenger lifts the epl title!!!
David Alaba as CDM for Arsenal. Ur thoughts???
And why would bayern even sell their STAR KID to anyone.
By next week we will know why Bayern is selling their star kid
1. Why would we play a full back as DM?
2. Why would Alaba leave Bayern?
i think we will get vidal , and either reus or griezmann that for me will make up title contenders , griezmann i think will be as big if not bigger than hazzard
Don’t see Vidal coming, Arsenal have a glut of central midfielders in Wilshere, Ramsey and Cazorla and unless you see Wegner selling any one of them he’s staying at Juventus. Reus signed a 4 year deal till 2019 in February.
As for Griezman his buyout clause is £42 mil so you can look at it in two ways:
Glass half full: He costs Ozil money
Glass half empty: He costs Ozil money
so sterling sold for 49m surely griezmann is worth 42m he’s better scored just as many goals as sanchez has champions league experience an french plus he can play across anywhere across front 3
1 Cristiano Ronaldo 48 Real Madrid
2 Lionel Messi 43 FC Barcelona
3 Neymar 22 FC Barcelona
3 Antoine Griezmann 22 Atlético Madrid
thats just league goals
42m seems cheap for a player of his quality
OT:
the reports monitored from BBC on Brila Sport, a radio station in Nigeria, this morning , says Montreal is moving back to Athletic Bilbao.
And that Faouzi Ghoulami of Napoli is to replace him.
Also that we missed out on Shneiderlin because Wenger refused to pay ‘over the board’.
Ok let us all for a minuted take our arsenal glasses off and retrospect whether we really can challenge for title with this squad. I dont think so.
The worrying part is wenger is again back to his adamant mode where he thinks this squad is good enough. We have to take gambles and sign players. With less than a month to go , we are going with the same squad. Cech alone cant win us titles. If our goal is just 3rd 4th then yes this good that to provided liverpool dont buy a reus.
OT:
the reports monitored from BBC on Brila Sport, a radio station in Nigeria, this morning , says Monreal is moving back to Athletic Bilbao.
And that Faouzi Ghoulami of Napoli is to replace him.
Also that we missed out on Shneiderlin because Wenger refused to pay ‘over the board’.
Hmm, Chelsea officially sign Begovic.
Great signing for them but I can’t imagine why he’d go there. Begovic is a class keeper that should be playing first team football
OT: Would you rather we sign benteke now and all of a sudden cavani,benzema,greizman becomes available at the end of transfer wndow? i know wenger likes the waiting game to see if a super signing becomes available at the dieing minute.isnt that how we signed ozil? so can we stop whining and wait.i know sometimes it backfires but let us give him the benefit of a doubt and wait until transfer window shuts pls….but my guts tells me wenger is going to sign that sevilla dm kyroshawk i can recall the spelling and what no one is even looking at is our lb position.am sorry to say this but gibbs cant cut it..thanks to monreal last season..am not saying he is not a good squad player but we need better..and ghoulam is rumour is to be believed is a serious lb.i watched him severally at napoli last season…like every other person who is a true gonner we should wait…boy o boy the two manchester clubs are digging it..premier league this season will be one hell of a competition and if u feel man u isnt a contender then am sorry for you…
It takes fans’ abuse for Wenger to sign Ozil and Sanchez! Must this be the case every transfer window? This guy has no ambition to win the EPL ever again, not to mention to UCL. Credit goes to David Dein for what we won from 1997-98 up to 2003-04. From the strengthening I’ve seen our rivals do in this transfer window, with Wenger sitting down with his tail between legs, I’m afraid we may not even qualify for Europa League. Imagine Schneiderlin wanted to play for Arsenal but Wenger let him go to Man U, who have already signed Schweinsteiger. We are where we were last term, bar the signing of Cech. Wenger is dragging Arsenal down the list of top clubs in Europe, and we are losing fans to Man U, Chelsea and City. A couple of years ago Man U were in debt of over 500m UK pounds, but after winning a number of trophies and getting huge sponsorship deals that debt has been wiped out and today they are the richest club in the world and worth over 1b, which means they will continue to attract world class players. But Wenger is taking us backward and no world class player will want to come to Arsenal in future. Nobody remembers debt when you win silverware — We have seen this with Barca, Real and Chelsea. Our problem is some misguided Arsenal fans continue to mislead Wenger that the team, as it stands, is okay to challenge on all fronts. They are as deluded as Wenger! How long should we tolerate this mad, myopic and mediocre manager?
Here’s our current 25 man group plus a few U21, 9 HG players.
Who should Wenger replace?
Personally I would like to replace Flamini and Campbell with world class players and maybe Debuchy since we got 4 guys that can play DR.
GK Cech
GK Ospina
GK Szczesny HG
DL Monreal
DL Gibbs HG
DR Debuchy
DR Jenkinson HG
DC Koscielny
DC Mertesacker
DC Paulista
DC Chambers
DM Coquelin HG
DM Wilshere HG
DM Arteta
DM Flamini
MF Cazorla
MF Ramsey HG
MF Özil
MF Oxlade-Chamberlain HG
MF Rosicky
FW Giroud
FW Walcott HG
FW Alexis
FW Welbeck HG
FW Campbell
DR Bellerin U21
DC Hayden U21
MC Zelalem U21
MC Bielik U21
FW Akpom U21
FW Gnabry U21
Really loathe the ‘Injury-free’ phrase, both as a new season objective for a team (and it’s players),or as an excuse for achievements not accomplished (Especially Arsenal) for 2 reasons particularly..
a) Realism. ~ This is Arsenal! Injuries are Bound to happen to some (Most) players..We know this, Arsene knows this, The players know this! So drop the Injury free bollocks! It’s NOT happening, best we can hope for is short-term injuries or injuries to positions having a lot of alternatives. That’s why you see us screaming for a CDM, and an ST because it’s fairly obvious if Coquelin gets injured.ARTETA isn’t gonna cut it (Nuff said). And if Walcott truly is to be our striker, past experience shows he’s bound to get injured and again, you’re left with giroud and welbeck (Who can’t cut it either for a team challenging for 3 cups, simultaneously)
b) Using ‘injury free’ as an excuse to not buy new players.
i hope ramsey gets injured, only because i want to see wilshere play