Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey is fulfilling his potential

Aaron Ramsey scored his first senior hat-trick in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Everton. He is beginning to fulfil his attacking potential as a marauding midfielder.

Aaron Ramsey has never scored a senior hat-trick. I am sure a man of his inordinate talents has done so many times at youth level. But a game of this magnitude has never seen the Welshman ripple the net on three separate occasions. How happy were Arsenal that he did so on a slick and cool Saturday evening this weekend.

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What was especially pleasing was the nuance of his space-exploiting and the conviction of his finishes.

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Take the first, for example. Everton’s defenders, who were particular lapse on the day, were all dragged to the near post as Henrikh Mkhitaryan prepared to fire a low cross into the six-yard box. Ramsey, therefore, slipped behind them, standing in acres of room in the centre of the penalty area. The third, meanwhile, showcased the greater assurance of his finishing. Mkhitaryan’s pulled-back pass, which was excellent, had to be fizzed into Ramsey at pace. But Ramsey calmly and confidently steered it inside the near post, low, hard, precise, unnerving and sure. It was an excellent strike.

And Arsene Wenger was keen to highlight Ramsey’s greater ability to both find space in the penalty area with late marauding runs from a deeper starting position and then to finish with great confidence. Here he is speaking in his post-match press conference about the hat-trick hero and match-winner:

"“I felt always – when I watched the games after on the video – you think always that he is there in a good position in the box and I felt always that he had between 10 and 15 goals at least in his locker. He didn’t do it until now because I think he rushed, sometimes, with his finishing. He looks much calmer. The only difference I see is that he doesn’t rush it. That’s why maybe, that’s the secret to being efficient.”"

The problem with Ramsey, however, has been a streak of inconsistencies because of injuries and the subsequent match-dullness that occurs during his recovery. He has, for example, only ever played more than 2500 Premier League minutes once in his career. But goals and assists have always been his purpose. He, simply, has not been able to provide them thanks to the stop-start nature of his many injury issues.

This season, however, he seems to have overcome his prior hurdle. He now has six goals and six assists on the season — Alexandre Lacazette is the only player in the squad who can match that number of league goals and assists. Ramsey has, in fact, a direct involvement in a goal every 115 minutes. Only once has he bettered that tally. His remarkable 2013/14 campaign where he was undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in the country.

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This season, Ramsey is finally fulfilling his potential. It has been a long time coming. But it is here, and it is most welcome. The only questions now are of consistency and repetition, two things that he is yet to master.