Arsenal May Again Confine Aaron Ramsey To Right Wing

Arsenal have been reaping the benefits of having Aaron Ramsey in the center of the pitch. However, is it inevitably that he returns to the right wing?

Say what you want about the guy, Aaron Ramsey has earned the right to be a central midfielder for Arsenal. He has been through some tough times with the club but through it all he has emerged as a premium midfielder that even Barcelona would love to get their hands on.

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While Ramsey may tend to leave his midfield mate stranded with his forward runs, that is not such a big deal when his midfield mate is Francis Coquelin and not Mathieu Flamini. Plus, Ramsey’s insatiable work ethic always sees him tracking back in time to help out.

Ramsey took over Arsenal’s midfield role in his breakout 2013/14 season. His 16 goals and ten assists were something out of a legend. He carried Arsenal on his back and scored the goal that ended the trophy drought. He was just 23 at the time and it looked like everything had finally come together.

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2014/15 didn’t go according to plan. Ramsey lost his central role when he went down with injury and Santi Cazorla took it over. Despite what Ramsey had proven time and again, Cazorla kept the role even when Ramsey returned. The Welshman was pushed out to the right wing. Through all the changes and injuries, he still managed nine goals and seven assists. That is a great return.

When Santi Cazorla went down with an injury this year, it was Ramsey’s turn to return the favor. He has done that. The role is yet again his and it makes complete and total sense.

However, we have to wonder what will happen when Cazorla returns. As discussed in the previous article about Francis Coquelin complicating things, so too will Cazorla. So much so that someone is going to come out of this mess a bit irked.

For starters, Coquelin is going to take that defensive midfield spot. That is certain. From there, Wenger has Cazorla and Ramsey, neither of whom he likes to sit, and his newest toy, Mohamed Elneny. Thinking from a Wenger state of mind, the answer is clear and it does not favor Aaron Ramsey.

Wenger will likely opt to move Ramsey out to the right to let Cazorla back into the middle of the pitch. Then, Elneny can be a regular substitute for Cazorla, who has a habit of being subbed off.

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That will then push Joel Campbell out of a job, which, while not likely, is more likely than Cazorla or Ramsey hitting the bench. In the end, if it comes down to who hits the bench first, Cazorla, Ramsey or Campbell, it is a no-contest, Wenger will choose Campbell.

Ramsey and Campbell have both become crucial pieces to Arsenal and they both do something that Cazorla simply doesn’t do – they score goals. Not only that but they have the stamina and work ethic to gallivant about the pitch, wherever the ball may be.

Cazorla does not have that, but in terms of Arsenal pecking order, he is way up there. So while I could harp all day about how Cazorla’s return should not be met with any changes, I am not the man in charge. The most likely scenario is laid out above and it may be a scenario of frustration for our dear Welshman.

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Hopefully Barcelona can get another transfer ban when that happens. At least until Cazorla moves on.