Arsenal: ‘Nothing’ is an unacceptable end for Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal have agreed to let Aaron Ramsey run out the remainder of his contract, but the silence of ‘nothing’ is hardly an acceptable end to his tenure.

There are certain things that should go without saying, but it seems like, especially when Arsenal are involved, that it has to be stated anyway. So let’s go ahead and state it: You don’t let one of your best players go for free. You just don’t.

No matter what the situation, it’s not an acceptable end for someone like Aaron Ramsey, who has spent a decade at the club, has never had a question posed to him regarding his loyalty to the cause, even now, when everything is decided, and would do anything for the club. And he has done so much more than others.

It doesn’t feel right, then, that his parting from the Emirates would be spent making midweek appearances for a season before walking away on a free to wherever he wants at the end of the year. Where is the practicality in that? Where is the final hurrah?

I think we should all know by now that no return we are going to get is going to match Ramsey’s overall value. He is in his final months of his contract, we can’t recoup that much on him in January, which is our last chance to get anything back.

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But that brings up my next point – we have to get something in return. Literally, anything. If that anything is Patrick Schick, so be it. There is simply no situation where letting Ramsey walk for free beats a potential investment elsewhere.

None of it feels right. That a player who has given so much for the club is going to be ushered out to sounds of silence as if he was never even here. There has to be something, some sort of countermovement to balance the weight of him leaving. Granted, barring something spectacular, nothing can truly balance, but it can come closer than emptiness would.

I’m not thrilled about the one swap deal we are hearing – Schick – but I trust Emery enough that any player in his charge is bound to get better, right? So take a flyer on it, see what happens. Again – it’s better than nothing.

I’m still holding out hope that something can turn the tides and Ramsey will stay, but that’s just the Wengerite in me. The sooner it’s done with, the better. So… January. Not summer.