Arsenal: James Maddison a replacement, but not for Aaron Ramsey

Tony Cascarino has stated that Arsenal should pursue James Maddison as an Aaron Ramsey replacement. Maddison would be a good replacement for someone, but it isn’t Ramsey.

Aaron Ramsey will leave Arsenal this season. After 11 years at the club, now established as a key piece of the midfield puzzle, the Welshman will move to Juventus for nothing this summer. And in his aftermath, the Gunners must try and replace him without any funds from his departure.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

That is no easy task. And there are plenty of names that have been highlighted as potential targets as a Ramsey replacement, a need that has only heightened in importance with his recent performances. And at the weekend, Premier League pundit Tony Cascarino threw another name into the ring:

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

"“I look at Maddison and I think, ‘Arsenal is your team. There are not many great No.10s in world football but Arsenal desperately need someone who plays like the Leicester City man. The role was deemed a luxury in past, their job was to create chances and make a difference in attack. Mesut Ozil and Dele Alli are expected to deliver without the ball and to be a defender for their teams too. You have to be very gifted to do that and nine out of ten gifted players do not want to work without the ball. Maddison’s work-rate is good and getting better.”"

James Maddison certainly is the type of player that the club should be targetting this summer. 22 years of age, still learning his trade, playing every week in the Premier League, notching seven goals and six assists in 31 appearances thus far. With terrific technical ability and great potential, Maddison would be an extremely astute signing.

But he is not an Aaron Ramsey replacement. There is a key difference in the way the two players approach the midfield position: Ramsey is a deeper-lying, central midfielder who was goalscoring capabilities; Maddison is an attacking midfielder who can drop deep and involve himself in the build-up but is best in the final third. That sounds like a very acute variation, but it has a significant impact on the team.

In reality, Maddison would be a good replacement for someone in the Arsenal squad, but it is not Ramsey. It’s Mesut Ozil. The position that Maddison plays, and the way in which he plays it, is much more akin to Ozil’s more advanced role, not the box-to-box role that Ramsey excels in. There are, however, two key differences to his game and Ozil’s.

The first is age. Maddison is eight years Ozil’s junior. That makes him substantially more valuable. The second is more technical: he works harder. Maddison is a modern number 10, far more comparable to the industry of Kevin de Bruyne or Christian Eriksen. He may not quite provide the same creativity as Ozil, who is unique in that regard, but he is far more disciplined and willing without the ball.

Whether any move for Maddison will actually be made or not remains to be seen. There have been no rumours to hint at Arsenal’s interest. But if he does arrive in north London, it should not be as a Ramsey replacement. Maddison is the Ozil successor.