How soon some people forget! One former Arsenal player, Charlie Nicholas, was among the fiercest critics of the Wales international midfielder Aaron Ramsey and his recent displays for the Gunners. Completely ignoring the fact that Ramsey has just returned from injury and that the whole Arsenal team played badly, the 23-year old was blamed for the way Arsenal drew and then lost against Anderlecht and then Swansea City after being in the lead.
But the Wales national team boss Chris Coleman has backed the Arsenal star, ahead of their huge Euro qualifying tie in Belgium today, as reported by the Daily Star. And his comments seem to be a direct response to former Gunners striker Nicholas and his claims that Ramsey was trying to be too flashy in his passing and play, even making a reference to the pundit’s name and reputation for off field excess.
The Wales manager said, “Aaron is not a big-time Charlie. He’s as humble as they come. Sometimes he can get a bit sloppy in training – but every player is like that.
“He’s the type of player that when it comes off, it looks great. He can thread an incredible pass through the eye of a needle or take players on. But if it doesn’t come off, then sometimes people can look at it and say he is being flippant.
“He has the ability to produce a bit of magic and if he has a bad game it is not for the want of trying.
“We played Andorra and Rambo wasn’t at his best and gave away possession – but he always kept working hard and looking for the ball.
“Aaron is a tough boy. When people say to me, ‘Who were the toughest players you played with?’ I always think of players who are tough mentally.
“Players who always take responsibility, whether they are playing good or bad. It’s easy to be physically tough. But to always want the ball and take responsibility – that’s toughness.
“Rambo has that in abundance. He will be back to his best sooner rather than later.”
And I would advise any Arsenal fans who are unhappy with Ramsey to think carefully about that. We do not want to be the sort of Arsenal fan like Piers Morgan, who seems unable to see past the latest game or performance from a player.
Rambo may be trying a bit too hard to score or find the perfect pass, but does that mean he should stop trying? If that was the case he would never have found the fantastic form of last season would he?