Arsenal Vs Manchester City: Dealing with Aaron Ramsey absence

Aaron Ramsey faces a late fitness test to see if he will be available for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final. Here, I run through what Arsenal could do if they are without the marauding Welshman.

Aaron Ramsey is the linchpin of this midfield. Now, some may argue that he is a weak and flimsy linchpin. But, nevertheless, he is the cornerstone on which this side is built. It is clear to see in his absence. The lack of drive, the failure to shift the play forwards with accuracy and intent, a slowing lethargy that stands in stark contrast to the usual dynamism and fluidity with which Arsenal often play with.

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His availability, then, for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, is vital. It is something that Arsene Wenger will be sweating on until the last minute. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Wenger admitted that Ramsey could be available, but late tests would be undertaken to determine his fitness.

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I, obviously, have no information on the result of those test. As of writing, on Saturday morning, they may not have even happened yet. But to portray their importance to the rest of this Arsenal side, I want to reveal what Wenger may be thinking his contingency plan is if Ramsey is not ready to play. The options are not all that convincing.

Assuming that Wenger implements the 4-3-3 of recent weeks with Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Iwobi playing in the front-three positions — Henrikh Mkhitaryan is cup-tied and Alexandre Lacazette is injured, significantly reducing Wenger’s options –, and that Granit Xhaka plays in the midfield alongside Ramsey, had the marauding Welshman been available, then there are two positions to fill: Ramsey’s now vacant role and the third midfield position.

There are a number of ways that Wenger could do this. If he does not want to contort his formation too much, then it is likely that he would have to play both Mohamed Elneny and Jack Wilshere, perhaps shifting Xhaka into a slightly more advanced role and featuring Elneny in the floating defensive midfielder/centre-half position that he did against Chelsea.

But there are other ways, although almost all of them include a formation change. The only other way to replace Ramsey without veering away from the 4-3-3 (I should state that I include the 4-2-3-1 as the 4-3-3, it is just a slight altering of positions, but they are essentially the same system, especially given the positional fluidity with which Arsenal play), would be to introduce Ainsley Maitland-Niles into the midfield. That would be quite the risk in such a high-profile game.

Wenger could, however, shift to either a more defensive or offensive outlook. The former would be to play a 3-4-3 with Nacho Monreal slotting in at centre-half and Sead Kolasinac introduced at left wing-back; the latter would be to introduce Danny Welbeck as a winger opposite of Iwobi, shift Ozil into a central position and implement an industrious, athletic, high-pressing strategy with a pacy and powerful front three — Welbeck, Iwobi and Aubameyang.

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The point of all this is to display that disparaging options that Wenger has available to him if Ramsey cannot play. None of these is especially convincing. None of these inspires any confidence. None of these pushes me to proclaim that Arsenal will overcome City. Ramsey, then, is vital to this team, and so, by extension, is his availability. Let’s hope that fitness test goes well.