Arsenal: The Aaron Ramsey blame game has gone cold

Aaron Ramsey’s Juventus wages have just been revealed and if there was any doubt who to blame for his Arsenal exit, those should be erased now.

As part of my therapy to overcome the loss of Aaron Ramsey, I have spent more than my fair share of time pointing the finger at various individuals in and around Arsenal. I’ve pointed at Stan Kroenke and his tightwadedness. He could have forked up to keep Ramsey at the club. But then again, he’s never done that, so why expect it from him now?

I’ve blamed Unai Emery – he didn’t seem to make too big of a fuss out of the lack of funds and how little of it was being allocated to Ramsey. But then again, he played Ramsey a ton, so there was clearly no animosity between the two parties, who were so excited to work together at the start of the season.

I’ve blamed Mesut Ozil. His wages, if transferred to Aaron Ramsey, would probably have been enough to get the Welshman to stay. From the sounds of it, Ramsey wanted Ozil-like wages to stay put at the Emirates, and given that his production was better than the German’s, it’s not like this demand was ridiculous.

But after seeing how much he is going to be making at Juventus – £400,000 a week, according to Sky sources – it’s clear who the true culprit is, and it’s none of the above.

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It’s Arsene Wenger.

Well, kind of.

I have recently come to terms with how none of this is Ozil’s fault. Even his lack of effectiveness isn’t really his fault. I mean, I can’t blame him for signing a mega deal, can I? He was given a chance to become a club legend under Wenger and he accepted it. Anyone else would have done the same.

The problem lies in the surprising lack of foresight by Wenger in even offering this to Ozil, knowing that he is not a good fit for every coach. Even that is a stretch though. Wenger didn’t know what the future held and, in the moment, he knew he wanted to keep Ozil. He knew how to use Ozil to the best of his abilities and wanted to maintain that.

It’s unsatisfying, knowing that there is no one to really point the finger at regarding Ramsey’s exit. I really wanted someone to complain about, because it is such a travesty that he is leaving on a free. I’ll keep the waggling winger ready though, in case another culprit emerges.