Arsenal: Ruthless sales the only Aaron Ramsey response

According to a Daily Mirror report, Josh Kroenke and Arsenal management stated that they will be more ruthless in selling players running down their contract in response to the Aaron Ramsey mess. Surely, though, that is the only response.

Oddly for Josh Kroenke and Arsenal management, they were present at Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Manchester United. Not only were they present, but they actually had a discussion with some of the fans at the match, primarily season ticket holders and members of Arsenal Supporter’s Trust.

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During that meeting, they discussed many of the usual topics. The future of the club, the financial position in regards to Premier League and European rivals, what the goals are for the coming summer window and seasons under Unai Emery. But, according to a Daily Mirror report, there was one particular topic that was of acute interest: the response to the Aaron Ramsey mess.

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As has been discussed extensively this season, the Gunners need to reshuffle their management of contracts and the players that are entering their final years. This, obviously, has not just been a Ramsey problem. Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna. All, in their own different way, caused the club problems because they had a contract that was set to expire. But Ramsey seems to be the last straw.

According to the Daily Mirror report, Kroenke and other management figures stated that they would be taking a more ruthless approach when it comes to players trying to run down contracts or refusing to enter into talks regarding an extension or new deal entirely. Instead of waiting and hoping that the issues can be thrashed out, sales instead will come.

Placing the question of why it took the club so long to come to this fairly obvious conclusion on the shelf for one second, surely this is the only response that could be made from the Ramsey mess?

There is no argument that could be made that the way in which Ramsey and his future has been managed has been productive for the club. Even those who believe that he is short of the desired quality for the first team must concede that letting him leave for nothing is exceptionally unhelpful, from both a financial and footballing perspective.

Any smart organisation would be able to recognise that recreating the Ramsey situation is not a smart way to move forward. Mistakes will happen. Sadly. What is crucial, though, is that those mistakes are learned from and not repeated. For far too long, Arsenal have tended to repeat the mistakes of their contract mismanagement.

Finally, then, it seems as though the club is set to make the necessary changes in decision-making regarding players like Ramsey who enter the final year/s of their contracts. But let’s not praise them too much for this awakening. Really, it was the only response they could make after the utter calamity they put themselves in.