Arsenal: Degree of certainty in Aaron Ramsey ambiguity

As transfer deadline day looms, Aaron Ramsey’s Arsenal future is extremely ambiguous. However, there is a degree of comfort and certainty to be found: if he stays beyond the deadline, the club must be confident they can agree on a deal.

While there is much going around Arsenal football club this week, from a complete takeover by Stan Kroenke to the potential incomings and outgoings, hastened by the looming August 9th deadline, a day before the start of the new season, I believe that no on-pitch development currently is as significant and influential as determining the future of Aaron Ramsey.

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

The Welshman has just one more year remaining on his contract. He has ostensibly been stalling in signing a new deal — talks were intensely ongoing as early as March this year and an agreement has still not been yet made. The change of manager, the successes of players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud, and the feeling that his own game may be better served away from the Emirates could all be contributing factors to the midfielder’s erring.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

In a word, the whole situation is ambiguous. Traditionally, I would expect Ramsey to leave. But he has a unique tie to Arsenal, there has been little talk of potential destinations throughout the whole of the summer, and there are now reports suggesting that a new deal is ‘close’. This was written in the Daily Telegraph’s reporting of Kroenke’s takeover:

"“Arsenal are currently close to agreement with Aaron Ramsey on a new contract.”"

I should state at this point that this is a one-sentence statement as a part of a lengthy article that almost solely focuses on Kroenke, his impending complete ownership and the ramifications of the sale by Alisher Usmanov. The Telegraph is hardly sticking their neck out on the line, here.

But there is another aspect that, I believe, provides a degree of certainty amidst all this doubt and shrouded scepticism: with just a day remaining of the transfer window, it is almost guaranteed that Ramsey will not be sold this summer.

As experienced with both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, it is an extremely risky move from Arsenal to keep a star player into the final year of his contract. There is no assurance of any return in a sale; they can walk free from the club in a year’s time, with the freedom to talk to foreign teams from January; it’s not inconceivable that they lose motivation to train and perform, allowing their gaze to wander to what is to come, causing rifts in the dressing room.

The Sanchez debacle did not end well for the Gunners. The Ozil situation ended only marginally better. Yes, he signed a new contract, but the club had to pay through the nose to keep him. They had to do that precisely because Ozil was in the final year of his contract. It would be foolish, utterly stupid, outlandishly amateurish and unprepared to make the same mistake again. And so that is why in being willing to let Ramsey enter the final year of his deal, the club must be confident of being able to thrash out a new one.

It remains to be seen what happens with Ramsey and his undefined future. I hope that he stays. I believe most Arsenal fans hope that he stays. And there is reason to believe that he might. His staying beyond the transfer deadline, I believe, is the most convincing one. There is an element of certainty in this murky mire of ambiguity after all.