Arsenal: Standing firm on Aaron Ramsey justified

Arsenal are reportedly standing firm against Aaron Ramsey’s substantial wage demands. While the impasse is concerning, the Gunners are justified in their stance.

While the transfer window in England may have closed, that does not mean that the personnel decisions just end overnight. The European market is still open, of course, and with the ever-evolving and modernising of the game, transfer decisions are now a year-round exercise. They do not end once the deadline passes.

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For Arsenal, they still have one major decision to make: the future of Aaron Ramsey. Like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez last summer, Ramsey is entering the final year of his contract. If Arsenal want to recoup some value on his services, then they must sell before August turns to September. Obviously, that also means selling abroad.

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But there have been limited rumours linking Ramsey with an exit this summer, especially overseas, and it seems as though the club are intent on trying to keep the Welshman in-house. That means signing him to a new deal. But there is a problem: the £300-000-a-week-plus contract of Mesut Ozil has screwed the Gunners’ wage structure somewhat, as well as providing key players’ representatives with a benchmark to aim for in negotiations.

According to the London Evening Standard, Arsenal have told Ramsey not to use Ozil’s wages as a negotiating tool. With an inflated wage bill topping a historic £200 million and Unai Emery tasked with trying to reduce that number, quite frankly, the club cannot afford to pay Ramsey at anywhere near the same level as they are currently paying Ozil. As reported, they are standing firm.

And that, I believe, is a justified stance. Ramsey is not the same quality of player as an Ozil or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He is a very good player who I would very much like to see stay in north London. But overpaying for good players as if they are great players is how teams can get into financial difficulty, ending up with an overpriced but underperforming squad.

Moreover, if the club does need to make some drastic wage cuts in the coming windows, allowing Ramsey to leave may not be the worst idea. Although he is younger than Ozil and others, his fitness record is sketchy at best and it is not inconceivable that he suffers more injuries in the coming years as he ages further — as of writing, he is dealing with a niggling calf problem.

Ramsey would be a huge absence and Arsenal would need to find a way to replace him. That would not be easy, especially if they have to do so in the notoriously unpredictable and extortionate January transfer window. And I would prefer him to stay at the club. He just won Player of the Season. You don’t willingly sell those players.

But the price must be right. Given his injury record, the wage troubles of the club and his inconsistencies, Ramsey does not deserve true, top dollar.  Standing firm, therefore, is risky, but justified.