When the Arsenal Player of the Year for last season appeared to turn his ankle on that awful £G artificial pitch in Andorra right at the end of the Wales international game this week, Arsene Wenger must have been cursing his luck. It was the last international game of the two week break and we seemed to have escaped unscathed until Ramsey limped off worryingly.
We no know the news is not that bad, as Wenger’s pre-match press conference reported by ESPN revealed. But the Frenchman admitted to fearing the worst after Rambo missed so much of last season with an injury that was thought to be minor at first. So his relief was palpable and totally understandable.
Wenger said, “He has a little chance to be available for Saturday. It is an ankle sprain, a minor one, for sure.
“I would have been haunted in my head by last year’s injury that was much more serious than expected at the start. It turned out to be three months, but even if he is not ready for Saturday, this is a short-term injury.”
I just hope that the concern outweighs the relief and makes the Prof err on the side of caution with his star midfielder. Of course we could always do with a fully fit and firing Ramsey on the pitch, especially against an opponent as strong as Man City, but I think it is more important to look at the long term view. Arsenal need to keep our best players fit for the whole season and we know that Wenger has, in the past, over played certain players and then lost them to injury.
Another reason why it is not worth the risk is that Ramsey has not yet hit his top form, while Jack Wilshere has really started to grow into that role again. So I don’t think we will be weakening the team by playing Jack rather than Aaron in the middle and then Ramsey will definitely be fit and fresh for the Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. Do you agree?