The Arsenal midfielder and Wales star Aaron Ramsey has revealed for the first time that he is keen to play in Spain during his career. He went on to describe the interest from La Liga giants Barcelona as “flattering”.
The Welshman joined the club from Cardiff in 2008. Our manager Arsene Wenger had to beat strong competition from the likes of Manchester United to land the talented playmaker and he always had high hopes that Ramsey will develop into a top all-round player. Ramsey did not disappoint Wenger and has grown into an important member of his first team. At the same time, there were injuries that prevented him from playing more frequently for the club.
Ramsey was talking to the Guardian and expressed his desire to stay injury-free for the entire season that is coming up. It is obviously frustrating for any player to get injured often because it affects the rhythm and the pace that comes with regular game time. In his absence, Ramsey has seen his central midfield role occupied by Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla with some commanding performances. Ramsey feels that he is better suited for the central midfield role and wants to grab it back as soon as possible.
Ramsey feels that he would like to one day follow the footsteps of his national compatriot Gareth Bale and play some day in the Spanish Liga. Bale made a world record move from Tottenham to Real Madrid and Ramsey also said he would like to go over to Spain and experience the same atmosphere one day.
Talking of Bareclona and the famous Treble they achieved last year – Ramsey brushed off the suggestions saying that he’s happy to be with Arsenal at the moment. Though his admiration from Barcelona is nothing to worry about, it could be taken as a hint that he may not say no if the Catalan club showed any more interest in the future.
The coming season could be huge for Ramsey. If he can stay fit all year and perform day-in-day-out, he may end up convincing the manager to play him in the central role. He may even be able to convince Barcelona to sustain their interest and come back next year.
But, for the moment, he is hopeful that the signing of Petr Cech and preferably some new arrivals will propel the Gunners to a Premier League title and perhaps even challenge Barcelona in the Champions League. Nothing will give more satisfaction to Wenger than seeing his protégé showing consistency and fitness but the best thing of all is if Wenger can take Arsenal to be a bigger attraction than the Spanish giants!