Arsenal and Aaron Ramsey: The decade building the beating heart

Aaron Ramsey has been at Arsenal for a decade. It’s a decade that has built to him being the heart of the midfield. Now, it’s time for him to beat.

August 13th, 2008 was the day the little known Welsh teenager Aaron James Ramsey made his first appearance for Arsenal. Unknowingly to many, they were about to witness the genesis of a glittering career that may go on as one of the brightest minds the Emirates will ever witness.

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

He started his journey in Cardiff City colours. Not too many appearances were needed to attract attention. But it did include an impressive FA Cup final involvement against Portsmouth at Wembley. An agreement was reached between Cardiff City representatives and Arsenal for the permanent transfer of the then Welsh teenager for a fee summed around £4.8 million.

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

Reaping from his technical improvement and a high-value prospect, Ramsey never waited too long before he got his first league appearance against Blackburn Rovers in mid-September of 2008.

The 5-foot-10 midfielder flourished continually until the beginning of 2010 when he suffered a horrific injury in one of the Premier League games at the Britannia Stadium. The injury later kept him out of action for the larger part of 2010, a year termed as the most difficult period of his career, developmental wise.

Interestingly, the 2013/2014 will forever be reckoned as the golden season of the energetic marauder, where he savoured unimaginable moments of brilliant football.

James McNicholas of Bleacher report, while citing Squawka stats, stated that the heroic season ended for Rambo on a high, netting 16 goals in 34 appearances despite having a few breaks due to injury which lasted for a total of approximately three months.

Ramsey continued showcasing a commendable mix of strength and fine tackles with precision, coupled with his ability to run deep into the opposition’s territory and flexible rotation of positions with those around him.

Former boss Arsene Wenger was also left in awe regarding his financial worth when he told The Mirror, ‘we bought him for £5 million and I wouldn’t sell him for 50 million.’

As expected, Ramsey was actively involved in attractive passing rhythms with his other colleagues, while he also learned hugely watching the partnership of Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas around 2011, and later the galvanisation of Santi Cazorla, Rosicky, Mikel Arteta and Andrei Arshavin between 2012 and 2013.

Much recently, he established himself as an active part in Wenger’s re-engineering approach with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, and later the addition of Granit Xhaka in 2016.

The stage is set for the new head coach Unai Emery to open up a new chapter of the Arsenal success story. Ramsey is now being tipped as the man that may be the foundation of unification, while the deal of Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria is expected to be an icing on the cake.

Next: Arsenal: Player ratings from 2017/18 season

Huge responsibility is resting on the shoulders of this wonderful talent. He has slowly worked his way into the heartbeat of the midfield. Now, it’s time for him to start beating.