At the stage of the game’s evolution where there are specialist players for special tasks, Aaron Ramsey is a throwback to the age of the all action midfielder.
A player who can tackle and win the ball while capable of passing the ball to his team-mates all the while having the lungs and legs to dash forward and arrive late in the box to score.
There are few in world football who does all these tasks as meticulously as Ramsey and even among those who does it, the frequency with which the Welshman does it keeps him apart.
But as good as he is, his penchant for running forward often leaves Arsenal vulnerable at the back.
While there is no doubt Ramsey does not run back as fast as he runs forward, the set-up at Arsenal hardly does him any favours.
Often deployed slightly to the right of the midfield to cater to his needs, there is no doubt that he prefers to play in the centre and has said so quite a few times as politely as he can.
Now with a plethora of injuries at Arsenal, the Welsh captain is playing at his best position and against lesser opposition, he can be quite devastating as he showed in the past week.
Now with Manchester City ahead in the next clash, his fiery energy display might just be exactly what they will look to tear apart Arsenal. Ambitious as he is, Ramsey always makes the forward runs in every attack rather than picking and choosing his moments. While there was protection at the back before, now he is the main man and leaving that kind of space to allow Kevin de Bruyne or David Silva to operate in or Yaya Toure to run into might just be Arsenal’s undoing. Now the question comes if Arsenal can show enough respect to their opponents to do the dirty work more meticulously While they have done so in the past, the answer remains to be seen. And if they are to forgo their gung-ho approach, then Ramsey will have to lead from the front. After all, he is the all-action man.
