Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey learning himself a brand new role in the story

Arsenal were once completely and utterly dependent on Aaron Ramsey for their very well-being, but he is learning a new character role and it’s getting good.

Arsenal’s win in the North London Derby is something to celebrate. In the here and now, it didn’t do much of anything to the Premier League table in the here and now, but in the big picture, it was huge. It gave confidence to a club and fanbase that was devoid of it. It gave the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil a performance to hang their hat on.

It was, in a word, magnificent. And that couldn’t have happened if the Gunners weren’t firing on all cylinders. That front three worked remarkably well. Ozil zigged and zagged, Alexis dipped and dived, Alexandre Lacazette ripped and roared and all was right with the world.

Somehow though, in a match so welcoming of influence, Aaron Ramsey, the primary instigator early on in the season, was quiet. Ramsey is not the kind of player who goes quiet. There are usually two modes to Ramsey, sort of like Alexis. There is Super Rambo, who can control the world, and there is struggling Rambo, who knows that he can control the world and is trying way too hard to.

Against Tottenham, there was neither of these Ramsey’s on display. There was a Ramsey that we are starting to see more of this year.

There was subtly-effective Ramsey. Ramsey who, rather than control the world, was happy to stick into the flow of the match and be a part of it.

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I often remark how the no. 1 thing I love about Sead Kolasinac is his ability to be consistent. Even when he isn’t at his best, he is still good, he does his job and he doesn’t hurt the team. That’s something special to Arsenal, seeing as how they don’t have many guys capable of it.

Ramsey is starting to look like he is capable of consistency too. He was quiet and reserved against Tottenham, but behind the surface of Ozil’s magic and Alexis’s determination, there was a responsible, midfield monster in Ramsey.

Ramsey won more tackles than any two players on the pitch, on either side of the ball, combined. He accepted that he had a job to do in the midfield and he did it incredibly effectively, for the good of the club as a whole.

He even jived with Alexis. He even let Alexis and Ozil run the show while he managed his responsibilities and did his job – and what a job it was.

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The point is, Ramsey was superb, but you wouldn’t have known it unless you were looking for it. That is the kind of effectiveness that can turn into consistency. If this is Ramsey not at his best, then we need to lock him up, because his “not best” was great.

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