Arsenal: So, how much is Aaron Ramsey actually worth?

Aaron Ramsey will have just one year remaining on his contract this summer. As we have seen with Alexis Sanchez, it may be better for Arsenal to sell while they can. So, I ask the question: How much is the Welshman actually worth?

You would have hoped that Arsenal learnt from the Alexis Sanchez debacle earlier this year. I actually wanted them to keep Sanchez. That is exactly what they did. In hindsight, we were both wrong. While the chance presented itself, Sanchez should have sold.

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The mistake was to allow a player to enter the final year of his contract. They got away with it with Mesut Ozil. With Jack Wilshere, it was different. He chose to stay, not the other way around. I wonder what way everything will lie this summer with Aaron Ramsey.

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The Welshman, like Sanchez last summer, has just a year remaining on his current contract. He is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, having scored and assisted a combined 12 goals in 19 Premier League appearances, and is beginning to attract interest from around Europe, including Juventus. So, like when Arsenal should have sold Sanchez last summer, if it comes to it, will they be willing to see Ramsey this summer?

I am not so sure of the answer. There is a greater affinity between club and player in this case that perhaps suggests Arsene Wenger will play the loyalty card, hoping that Ramsey, who has now been under his wing, bar sporadic loan spells, for a decade, will more inclined to sign a new deal, even as he nears the end of his current deal in the final year. But it did get me thinking. If Arsenal were forced into shopping Ramsey, how much is he actually worth?

It is not an easy question to give a viable and reasoned response to. In terms of natural ability, there are few players that would be available that could better Ramsey. His potential, as a marauding, bombarding, roaming central midfielder is extraordinary.

But how much is his price docked by his injury issues, his inconsistencies, and his perceived lack of defensive output and positional discipline, though I would argue that they are unfair criticisms to be levelled at him? Certainly, there are some that would not rate Ramsey as highly as I would. I also believe that I am more inclined to pay for potential. Would the market be so endearing to the risk-reward tension that Ramsey offers?

Additionally, there is the complication of his contract. It would be naive of Arsenal to expect to receive the same value for Ramsey with one year remaining on his contract as if he had three or four years remaining.

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I am still not sure what I would take for Ramsey. I feel that, in the current market, £30 million may be too cheap. Having said that, £50 million is probably too expensive. That still leaves a £20-million grey area in which I have little insight. It is a question that will be asked time and time again this summer. Let’s hope that Arsenal have a more decisive answer than I do.