Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey leaving hurts every part of team

Aaron Ramsey could leave Arsenal for nothing next summer. If he does, it will hurt every part of the team because of both his all-round influence and the financial cost of replacing him.

With Aaron Ramsey, there is a problem. What if he leaves? I’m aware that may seem like a really obvious problem. He is in the final year of his contract. It has looked like he could leave for some time now. But there is a string of ramifications that could likely play out if Ramsey does indeed leave Arsenal.

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Firstly, it should be stated that it is highly possible that Ramsey will leave. He holds all the power. He can walk out for free next summer and there is nothing that the club that can do about it. And just this week, there have been suggestions that Ivan Gazidis may try and sweet talk him into joining him at AC Milan, should he depart to.

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And if Ramsey does indeed depart, then Arsenal could be thrust into a rather worrying scenario. The most pertinent issue would be that they need to find a replacement — there is no player that offers the same influence that Ramsey does in the squad. That is a problem because there aren’t simply many players in the world that can offer the same influence as Ramsey. Finding a replacement is not like popping to the supermarket and picking up a loaf of bread.

But that is only half of the issue. If Ramsey does depart, then there won’t be much financial reward. With less than a year remaining on his contract, Arsenal have little to no authority when it comes to trying to demand a fair fee. Any potential buyer knows that they can have him for nothing next summer. Why pay £70 million in January?

So not only will Arsenal need to replace Ramsey, but they will have to do such without much contribution to the budget from the Ramsey sale. To find a player of the Welshman’s quality and influence, it could easily cost £50 – £100 million. That could quite plausibly be all of the summer’s transfer budget invested in one player.

If Ramsey is sold in January, the Gunners would do well to get anything more than £30 million. That may not go very far to finding a viable replacement. And then, the club has to try and replace a player that impacts every aspect of the team with his bounding, ground-gobbling style and address other weaknesses in the squad, all with a reduced budget.

Ramsey’s exit would mean that the club would both have less money to spend in other areas, as they would have to gear resources into replacing him, and also lose effectiveness in these positions because of Ramsey’s absence. Such is the rounded influence of the midfielder, he makes the job of every player around him easier. Without Ramsey, those jobs become more difficult.

It sounds like a disastrous scenario. That’s probably because it is. Losing Ramsey for next to nothing would be catastrophic, and it’s worryingly likely.