Arsenal: Jack Wilshere isn’t enough to justify Aaron Ramsey exit

Arsenal are in the contemplation stages of the futures of their two electric midfielders, but know that the exit of one cannot be made up for by the other.

Arsenal made some massive strides this January regarding their future. Mesut Ozil was locked down, Alexis Sanchez made way for a much superior Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is here to finish all the chances being created.

The only real lingering question is how to move forward with Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. Wilshere’s contract is up at the end of the year and Ramsey’s will be up at the end of next year. Some are even speculating that, given the new wages they have shoveled over to Ozil and the newboys, they may have to get creative to keep both of their goldenboys.

Unfortunately, this is driving a bit of a decision point among fans in deciding who they would rather keep, assuming they can only keep one.

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Wilshere is obviously the current priority, as his contract runs up first, and fans are always going to be attached to the prodigal son of the club, even if that means that Ramsey has to leave. According to some, Wilshere can do everything Ramsey does.

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This is where I draw the line. You won’t find an Arsenal fan out there against the prolonged stay of Wilshere. I’m in that same universal boat. But for as much as I love Wilshere at this club and admire what he can do, he is not enough to replace Ramsey.

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If we lose Ramsey, we would have to find a new midfielder who can do what he does – which, spoiler alert, doesn’t exist, at least not within our budget. And there we have the bigger problem. Extending Aaron Ramsey is far, far cheaper than trying to compensate for him.

Not just that, and I hate to drag it to this, but Wilshere simply doesn’t have the capabilities to compensate for Ramsey. They are two different players that play the same position. Ramsey is a master off the ball, a fantastic and often surprise goal threat and he exudes positive energy on the pitch, something that will undoubtedly blossom now that Alexis, his bane, is one.

Wilshere is fantastic on the ball, but he has never been the goal threat that Ramsey is. His best statistical season with the Gunners was three goals and four assists. Ramsey’s was ten and eight. In fact, if you rank their best statistical season combined, you would have to wade through four seasons of Ramsey in order to get to Wilshere’s top season.

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Again, I’m not saying that Wilshere isn’t important to this club. He is vital. But he absolutely cannot replace Ramsey. Not many could, really.