Arsenal: Sorry Kevin De Bruyne, but we have Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal will be up against the “greatest” midfielder in the Premier League in Kevin De Bruyne, but we have Aaron Ramsey, and I’ll take that trade off.

Arsenal’s upcoming Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City has all the headlines to guarantee a fantastic match. There are relatively few injuries on both sides and the main men will all be available for selection.

The big question is Aaron Ramsey and if he will be in a position to start. His groin injury kept him out of the picture against Ostersunds FK, but getting him back for the final at his favorite place in the world to play – Wembley – is of the utmost importance.

Kevin De Bruyne will be on the other side of things, with his seven goals and 14 assists, rounding him off at a goal contribution every 110 minutes. For a midfielder, that is ridiculous and something to be feared.

But for Arsenal, among the throes of concern regarding how we counter that kind of production, we need only turn to the Welshman. He has six goals and six assists, but in about half the minutes played, making his contribution clip a nip-and-tuck 115 minutes.

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The only thing that makes De Bruyne better than Ramsey is his injury history. De Bruyne has been blessed with good health. Ramsey hasn’t.

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In fact, if you take a step back and look at their best ever seasons in the Prem, you will find even more indications that Ramsey is every bit the equal of the Belgian, despite different play styles. De Bruyne’s best completed year was last year, where he tallied six goals and 18 assists. That may well be broken this year, but for now, that was the best. His contributions came every 120 minutes. He was 25 at the time.

Ramsey’s best season came when he was 23. Ten goals and eight assists for a contribution every 98 minutes. For a deep-lying midfielder, mind you.

Again we see that the only thing De Bruyne has on Ramsey is a better history with injuries. Even his superior cast of supporting characters can’t stand him up to the numbers Ramsey puts up when he’s fit and happy where he should be in the team.

The Belgian boasts superior consistency, given his massive amounts of minutes played, and that has helped him build a superior tally. But Ramsey is undeniably the De Bruyne’s equal when he is in a similar situation – fit and in the proper position. The numbers don’t lie.

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Which brings me to the question – will Ramsey be in that proper situation, namely fit, to counteract what De Bruyne is capable of doing? If he is, in the haven where the Welshman has won us two trophies, then consider this a tight one.