Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey Injury A Fresh Start For Some

Arsenal have suffered a fresh wave of injuries, none more severe than Aaron Ramsey. Let’s find the positives in the negative situation.

Arsenal were stricken with a brand new wave of injuries following the midweek, FA Cup replay against Hull City. Per Mertesacker appeared concussed, although Arsene Wenger was very clear that it was only a cut on the eye. Gabriel is not causing much concern either.

The man that is causing concern is Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman suffered a non-contact injury to his thigh and shot out of the stadium like he was late for dinner reservations. His injury is causing concerns for Wenger, who fears he may be out until April.

While some haters may see this as a positive, losing someone with as much impact as Ramsey is never a good thing. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be all bad. Anytime there is a long-term injury, I try to focus on the positives, although they can be hard to find.

In this injury, there are two potential positive outcomes.

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Basically, two of Arsenal’s new-found talents now have a fresh chance to have an extended run in the starting line up. The first is Mohamed Elneny. The Egyptian appeared to be little more than a rotational player when he was acquired, but has since proven to be well-equipped to stabilize an often wobbly midfield.

But let’s also appreciate that he has some erratic tendencies as well, at least he has so far. So for those of us out there (like me) who are already missing Ramsey and all the intangibles that he brings to a match, we can delight in knowing that Elneny has some of that too.

Plus, it will force Elneny to adapt quickly and reach a better understanding of English football, something that could have taken months with how insistent Wenger was with leaving the training wheels on.

The person that benefits from this the most, however, is Joel Campbell. The Costa Rican’s fire and hunger is infectious and Arsenal just seem much happier with life when he is on the pitch. He is unpredictable and that is a good thing.

Despite all of that, Arsene Wenger still remains reluctant to give him a regular spot in the starting XI. It looked to be even less likely that he would be given proper play time when Ramsey was moved wide right in favor of Elneny. Now that Ramsey is down for a month, along with the Ox, Campbell stands alone against Theo Walcott.