Former Gunner Aaron Ramsey lifts the lid on odd Arsenal exit

Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has opened up about his odd exit from the club back in 2019 and claims that the Gunners withdrew their contract offer.

There is likely not an Arsenal player that was more universally loved by the fans than Aaron Ramsey. The Welsh midfielder was and still is a fan favourite but has not been at the club for years after moving to Juventus in 2019 as a free agent.

At the time, many were left confused as to why a player who still had lots to offer the club on and off the pitch was seemingly cast aside after years of superb service in north London.

In an interview with The Times, Ramsey has given insight into how his exit from the club went down. Somewhat surprisingly, Ramsay states that the club pulled the contract offer they had for him, and to this day, he is still unsure what exactly happened.

"“I agreed to a contract they [Arsenal] proposed,” Ramsey said.“Things went quiet for a few weeks. I was telling my agent, ‘Let’s do it,’ then all of a sudden the contract was no longer there, so there was nothing to sign or agree. There was a lot of change with the manager coming. I don’t understand, I still don’t know what exactly happened.”“It was a difficult start for a few months with Unai. As the season was going on, I was playing more and playing really well. Then January came and I had to make a decision whether I carried on and saw what happened or whether I agreed somewhere.“I decided to do that [move] because there was nothing on the table [from Arsenal].”"

It certainly seems odd that the club proposed a contract, to which Ramsey agreed, before pulling out. Unai Emery was the manager for the Gunners back then, so it could simply be a case of the new manager not wanting the Welsh midfielder at all.

After a relatively uneventful spell with Italian side Juventus, Ramsey now plies his trade in France with Nice alongside current Gunner Nicolas Pepe.

As for Ramsey’s exit, it does seem to be rather odd regarding how it all went down, but at least we know that he had fully intended to remain with the club. Still, it doesn’t seem a good way to send out a player who had given so much to the club and created so many great memories.

Across his Arsenal career, the 31-year-old won three FA Cups, was a runner-up in the Europa League in 2018/19, a two-time FA Community Shield winner in 2014 and 2015, and was an EFL Cup runner-up in 2017/18.