Aaron Ramsey wanted to stay at Arsenal Arsene Wenger confirms.
Arsenal had the chance to keep Aaron Ramsey at the Emirates beyond last season and the midfielder would probably have still been with them now if they hadn’t withdrawn their contract offer to him.
Ramsey was in the final year of his contract at Arsenal and negotiations had been long and protracted.
Arsenal offered a deal that seemed to have impressed him and his representatives. However, before he could sign on the dotted line, the contract was withdrawn.
Arsene Wenger was asked about the situation recently and he insisted that Ramsey never wanted to leave the club.
He, however, admitted that the club made it easy for him to join Juventus when they withdrew the contract they had offered him.
“In the end I met him once, he wanted to stay at Arsenal,” Wenger told beIN SPORTS. “They had an agreement and the club came back on that, from what I understood.
“I tried a long time to extend his contract but sometimes you have influences of agents as well.
“Every case is different and you have to understand in decision makings always who is influential – or not – when you make transfers.
“What I know from him, he was keen to stay.”
It is understandable that Arsenal wanted to avoid being held over a barrel. That is what happened with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. But that doesn’t explain why they allowed Ramsey to leave when he liked the contract offer and wanted to stay.