Arsenal: Please don’t make me talk about Aaron Ramsey anymore

Arsenal were yet again commandeered by Aaron Ramsey, this time as captain, but it’s at the point now that I don’t even want to talk about it anymore.

So why am I then? Great question. Maybe I’m sadistic (easy, being an Arsenal fan). Maybe I’m in denial (easy, being an Arsenal fan). Maybe I just can’t not talk about how much damn respect I have for a guy who has already signed elsewhere and is still the beating heart and soul of the team he is leaving (for free) after over a decade of heroics.

Or maybe it’s some combination of all of that. Yeah, let’s say that it’s some combination of all of that.

Aaron Ramsey did everything against Newcastle. Defended, controlled, attacked, passed, scored, dribbled… what am I forgetting? Kept the peace (looking at you, Kolasinac). Ramsey did it all. And he did it all wearing the captain’s armband that he was destined to wear for the next ten years as well, but that isn’t what I’m here to talk about.

Ramsey is something incredibly special to this club, he always will be, and with each passing match, I can’t help but talk about him because he keeps doing what we’ve always known he can do, what we always see him do.

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The difference is we know that this time, there is an end to it. Before we knew. We knew that what he was doing was cool and all, so what’s next? But now, it’s finite. He’s leaving. And with him leaves this indelible quality of being able to do, literally, everything.

Do you know how much help it is to a manager when you have a midfielder that can do everything?

There are players linked to take the job Ramsey is leaving behind – Franck Kessie, Joan Jordan, etc. Maybe one of them can do it, but I will always maintain that what made Ramsey extra special was how much he had invested in this club, and how much the club had invested in him.

You don’t get that in a new signing. You don’t get that in short stays with the club. You get that from guys who have felt truly valued at a club and despite all the haters and ignoramuses out there, Ramsey has always been treasured. That isn’t replaceable. I don’t care what you say. He had more to play for than any other player that could take his job.

Our best hope is Matteo Guendouzi, who could grow into a similar situation, but you can’t tell him to grow into it faster. It’s a work in progress.