Aaron Ramsey returned home to the club that gave him the chance to be the next world class midfielder and put in a performance worthy of awe all around. Ramsey scored two goals against his old club, a perfect return where both player and fans had huge respect for each other, so much so that when Ramsey didn’t celebrate scoring his goals, the Cardiff fans gave him a round of applause and chanted his name. In a time when footballers have a very bad press it was excellent to see the respect from a player to the club that gave him the chance.
This season Ramsey has been one of the star performers in the Arsenal midfield, and this has not gone unnoticed by Arsene Wenger who has picked Ramsey to start 12 games already this season, with 1 substitute appearance. With Ramsey playing so well people are asking the questions of where his sudden improvement in form has come from? Surely, it’s because he is playing with one of the best midfielders in the world Mesut Ozil? Or is it because he feels the pressure has been taken off him and moved on to Ozil, as the new addition became the centre of attention at the close of the summer transfer window?
Ramsey’s passing against Cardiff was of a very high standard, completing 86% of his passes which incidentally has been his average passing accuracy for the whole season. Ramsey had a high final third passing accuracy stat of 85%, which indicates that when he is getting into the final third he is still doing the business, as he would if it was in his own half or middle of the field. If you have a player that can achieve an 85% final third pass accuracy then you are likely to score a lot more goals, as they are not only supplying the ball to the attackers, but the ball is actually getting to the attacker, and all they need to do is keep their composure and score.
Ramsey took on the most players in the game in attacking mode; he managed to take on two players in the opposition box which will have caused havoc in the Cardiff penalty area, and here Ramsey created a clear cut chance which was converted and he was awarded with the assist. If he is getting past players and providing the service to other players then Arsenal will be a lot more successful in front of goal.
Ramsey wasn’t just all out attack, he also recovered the ball more that any player did in the game, so he was equally as important in regaining possession as he was in keeping the ball in dangerous areas. He managed to regain possession on ten occasions. It is important for midfielders to get back and defend to help out the defence and Ramsey definitely showed this on Saturday.
Overall Ramsey had a very good trip back home to the Welsh capital and the way he is performing this season can only be scaring the opposition, as he is still improving. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the worlds best teams would be considering a huge bid for the young Welshman as he surely is going to be one of the best Premier League players in a couple of years.
