Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck the right way forward

Arsenal failed in their summer contract negotiations, but focusing on Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey changes that for the long haul.

Arsenal had three players they were tasked with tying down to a contract this summer and they failed in all three instances. One left already, one could leave in January and the other could leave in the summer.

You may call this a negative, but to me, the news (via the Guardian) that Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey are set for extension talks offsets that negativity.

I’ve been trying to take a more positive spin to Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leaving and I think I’ve stumbled upon it in recent days as I’ve realized that both Alexis and Ozil don’t have the best work rate (for Alexis, this is mostly as of late) and that it is the effort and enthusiasm of their competitors that keeps Arsenal in games.

Meanwhile, it is the lack of effort and the need to slow the game down that loses us games, exposes the midfield, and leaves the team susceptible to counter attacks.

Welbeck and Ramsey play the same positions as Alexis and Ozil. The key difference is that one duo is built on creative flair and dazzling skill moves and the other is built on undying efforts with a penchant for heroics.

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It should be easy to tell the two apart, and when boiled down like that, it should be easy to decide which pair you would rather have.

Not just that, but Welbeck and Ramsey are both entering their prime years while, based on age, Alexis and Ozil are either exiting or on the decline of their prime.

Plus, at this point, you have to assume that all is lost with the superstar duo. So any time spent on them is pointless, especially after seeing what we saw against Chelsea – that without Ozil and Alexis, we actually do quite well. Better, I’d argue, than what the traditional Arsenal would have done with them.

Lastly, there shouldn’t be any question where their loyalties lie. Both players owe a great deal of gratitude to the club and with the athleticism that they possess, you know they will always give everything they have.

That was never a guarantee with the other two, especially Alexis, who many continue to doubt at this juncture.

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It may sound crazy – in fact I know it does – but at this point, I see Ramsey and Welbeck as the right way forward and Alexis and Ozil as more of the ineffective same.

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