Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey must learn his responsibility

Aaron Ramsey is a wonderful footballer. When fit, he is one of the most influential and important players in the Arsenal squad. But he is not perfect, and there is one key element he must develop: A learning of his responsibilities.

I should start this piece with a caveat: I love Aaron Ramsey. He is an excellent footballer whose impact on the game is often and easily overlooked. While his injury record is concerning, and, I believe, is a large factor as to why he has never quite delivered on his potential, his talent is extraordinary.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

But he is not the perfect player. No one is. Not even Thierry Henry was the perfect player. And there is one key issue that keeps rearing its ugly head with the Arsenal midfielder: Positional discipline.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

The starkest example of this came early this season. Arsenal travelled to Liverpool looking to make right a 1-0 loss to Stoke City the week prior. Ramsey was hauled off at half-time with Liverpool two goals to the good having utterly ripped through the heart of the Gunners’ midfield. Even Arsene Wenger could see the extent of the problems that his team were having in containing Jurgen Klopp’s dynamic side.

The issue was the Welshman was abandoning his responsibilities as a central midfielder — Arsenal played a 3-4-3 formation that day, meaning that he was a part of a two, not a three, and so his positional discipline was that much more important –, leaving Granit Xhaka completely exposed against a midfield that was already far more energetic and athletic than he was. Predictably, it did not end well.

And on Sunday, in the 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town to send Wenger off into the sunset, Ramsey, this time as a three, again showed this same positional naivety and ignorance, often stood on the shoulder of the Terriers’ defence while the rest of his team were struggling to evade  David Wagner’s side’s high press.

Now, it was a wonderful, outside-of-the-foot prod to tee up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the far post after he splintered the Huddersfield defence with a drifting run in behind the inside-left channel. But that does not excuse the rest of his performance that lacked intelligence and awareness, two traits that Ramsey usually possesses in abundance.

This is not to say that he is a poor player. As I said to open this article, I am a huge admirer of his abilities. He is one of the most important players in the squad and signing him to a new contract is of the utmost priority this summer. But that does not mean that he has nothing to work on, and this, for me, is the most pressing issue.

Next: Arsenal Vs Huddersfield: 5 things we learned

It remains to be seen whether the new manager will agree. I am sure they will have their own ideas on the Ramsey situation. But I sure would like to see him be a bit more disciplined and reserved. If he wants to be considered truly world-class, then he needs to learn and execute his responsibilities.