Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey effortlessly filling Alexis Sanchez void

Arsenal have been coordinating their attack without Alexis Sanchez this preseason, but thanks to Aaron Ramsey, that’s been a hell of a lot easier.

Arsenal’s preseason is pretty sparkly clean thus far, with plenty of attacking prowess to look forward to and enough defensive solidity, even with so many defenders missing, to bank on.

Of course, the main draw has been seeing Alexandre Lacazette and how he acclimates to his new team, and that has been going pretty smoothly as well, even despite the fact that he is playing more of a CAM role than a striker.

But we’ve also been tuning in to see how the team can create without Alexis Sanchez. Not because the Chilean is leaving, but because we all want to know what this attack would do if he were to leave, which thanks to the Confederations Cup, we are getting a taste of this preseason.

Lacazette looks to be the immediate successor, as Wenger is stuffing him into Alexis’s old position behind the striker and the effort is certainly there. The Frenchman has been tracking back, defending and creating pretty effectively. But he hasn’t stole the show.

Instead, Aaron Ramsey has stepped up in his one appearance thus far, and shown that he can indeed run this offense if given the chance to.

I have been claiming this for awhile and believe that the Welshman showed enough last season to prove his worth, but seeing him carry right on with it is reinforcing that belief. While he doesn’t have all the physical attributes that Alexis has, he does have some of the undeniably crucial factors.

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Namely the effort, the undying engine, and the ability to literally pop up anywhere that he may be needed.

Against Western Sydney, he was seen leading the attack from the point. He fielded a long ball over the top from Nacho Monreal off a run, the likes of which he had been making literally all match. He is pushing the issue getting forward and it is paying off, and will continue to.

And thanks to the defensive cover he is now provided, those runs have very little drawbacks. When the ball was going the opposite way, Ramsey could be seen parked in front of the defense, fighting to win the ball back.

Ramsey ran this attack, and the entire team, really, in 2013/14 under the guise of Super Rambo and I audaciously (allow me to brag for a second) claimed that Super Rambo was back last season. I am going to remind everyone that, should he stay healthy, we are going to see a Ramsey this year get back into double digit goal creation and look the threat we all hoped he would become.

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And yes, he will do it all even with Alexis Sanchez in the starting XI.

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