Arsenal: Bayern Munich the Aaron Ramsey saviour

Bayern Munich are reportedly confident that Aaron Ramsey will sign with the German giants at the end of the season. They could be Arsenal’s saviour.

Aaron Ramsey will leave Arsenal for nothing at the end of the year. The stupidity of that development has been discussed extensively. But, unfortunately, at this point, it is an inevitability that the Gunners cannot avoid — in fact, not only can they not avoid it, but they actually instigated it by rescinding their contract offer.

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For Ramsey, then, this is a position of great strength. He knows that any club that wants to sign him does not have to pay a transfer fee, meaning that he can command a greater signing-on bonus, and he will be able to play competing clubs against one another to barter for a higher wage.

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Conversely, Arsenal have absolutely no power over where Ramsey goes. The decision is completely and utterly his and they must simply live with the consequences of that. As experienced with Alexis Sanchez last year or Robin van Persie in 2012, affording such power to one of your star players is rarely a smart move. But, foolishly, that is precisely what has happened again here.

The primary fear, like with van Persie especially, is that Ramsey would move to a direct Premier League rival. There had been reports of interest from Liverpool and Chelsea, two teams that employ a 4-3-3 formation that would suit Ramsey’s box-to-box, late-surging style nicely indeed. I could imagine him playing very well in a midfield three at Chelsea alongside Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, for instance. And there is absolutely nothing that Unai Emery and the club can do about it. They must simply watch and hope that Ramsey makes a different decision.

Thankfully, reports from the media on Thursday morning suggest that Ramsey may do precisely that. There is a reported growing confidence at Bayern Munich that they will win the race to sign Ramsey to a free transfer next summer.

How true these reports are, I do not know. But Bayern have been interested in Ramsey in the past and he is a very German-esque midfielder in his rounded, complete manner, intelligent runs off the ball, and goalscoring knack from deep. He would fit in well with Bayern’s play. And Bayern also need to refreshen a squad that is beginning to stagnate a little.

If Ramsey did sign for the German champions, I am sure all at Arsenal would have a huge sigh of relief. He would be playing in a different league, unlikely to face his former club, not helping a direct rival in the Premier League. And Ramsey would have a great impact on a Chelsea or Liverpool, such is his quality and experience. The significance of his moving abroad cannot be understated.

Whether this does indeed come to pass, I do not know. For now, no one knows. But Bayern Munich could well be the Aaron Ramsey saviour. I really do not want to see him in the blue of Chelsea.