Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain paving the way for Aaron Ramsey

There is growing speculation that Aaron Ramsey may look to leave Arsenal this summer. Did Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pave his way last year with the now Liverpool midfielder seemingly improving under new management?

Last summer, it was clear that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was intent on leaving Arsenal. He had expressed concerns at his lack of game time and development the prior summer and he acted on such worries a year later, refusing to extend his contract, which had only one year to run, and engineering a £40 million move to Liverpool.

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It was a bothersome turn of events for the Gunners, a team founded on the opportunities and the progression that it offers its young players. Not this time, clearly. And now, Arsene Wenger and the club are in a very similar situation, this time with a player who is perhaps searching out for the final contract of the prime of his career.

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Aaron Ramsey is 27 years of age. These are undoubtedly his prime years. I am sure that that thought has passed through his mind on several occasions. A player whose potential has been parched because of injury, the Welsh international may feel, akin to Chamberlain a year prior, that his career is better served away from the comforts of the Emirates that he will have called home for a decade at the end of this current campaign.

If that is the case, Arsenal, again like Chamberlain, will be in no position to deny his departing desires. From this summer, Ramsey has just one more year to run on his contract. If value wants to be recouped for a player that seems to have discovered his best form with seven goals and seven assists in all competitions for the club, then he will have to be sold. As we saw with Alexis Sanchez, once a player enters that final year, it is very difficult to negotiate for a fair price.

And there have been growing reports of potential suitors, with Chelsea the latest name to surface. Now, I have no comment on the validity of those rumours. At this point in the year, with over three months until the end of the season, it is very much wise to take every piece of transfer news with a rather hefty grain of salt.

But I certainly cannot rule out that Ramsey is considering what life away from North London would be like. What role would he be positioned under a new manager? In what ways would his game improve with different coaching methods and on-pitch strategies? Could he fit better with different teammates and new ideas? Would his fitness issues subside away from an organisation renowned for its injury history?

He would only have to glance at his old teammate and the man whose path he could very well follow to have an idea of some of the answers to those questions. Chamberlain looks reinvigorated under Jurgen Klopp. Positioned centrally, as he always wanted, he has grown into a driving force at the heart of the Liverpool midfield. The system suits him better; the players suit him better; the manager suits him better. Ramsey may well be having similar thoughts.

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The way has been paved. Ramsey just needs to take the first step. For Arsenal, that is very worrying indeed.