Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez vs Aaron Ramsey feud perfectly healthy

Arsenal didn’t give the haters many things to criticize following the North London Derby, but the one thing that has been highlighted is perfectly healthy.

Arsenal’s win over North London Derbyy did not give spectators much to criticize. The Gunners were damn near perfect, with not a single bad performer on the day, so instead of focusing on an individual performance, the only criticism that I have found out there is that of the feud between Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey.

This feud started to develop when Ramsey returned to a bigger role in the second half of last year. It stems from both players having that superstar mentality. They both want to be the primary drivers and the center of attention and they are both willing to fight for it.

This can be contentious and we’ve seen it on the pitch, with both players tossing up their arms when ignored by the other. It happened against Tottenham, with Alexis literally jumping and stomping when Ramsey missed his run on a set-piece routine.

I’m not one to condone acting like a child told he can’t have a toy at the store, but I am one to encourage their budding rivalry, which is in no way dangerous or detrimental to their ability to function as team mates.

The main reason I say that is because you look at how they interact outside of tense, in-the-moment occurrences and there’s nothing there. They celebrate with each other, they give credit to the other when it’s due. Ramsey even cited Alexis as the hardest worker on the team when taking part in one of Arsenal’s “Rapid Fires.”

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There is a respect there that comes out when they aren’t competing with each other, you just don’t see that as much and, since it looks so normal, there isn’t any big reason to highlight it.

We used to talk all the time about internal competitions and the importance of giving players the added motivation of someone nipping at their heels. I think that this little rivalry is the best example of that. Going back to when it first started developing late last season, we have seen both Ramsey and Alexis fill the spotlight and, when both are on form, really push this team to a new level.

There are always going to be frustrating side effects, like seeing Alexis throw tantrums, but we don’t know how long that will last and, when it does end, Ramsey will be in the perfect position to fill the void.

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The trick will then become renewing the rivalry with some new faces.

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