After 11 years of service,369 appearances,64 goals,62 assists,Two Wembley winners in the FA Cup, Aaron Ramsey bid an emotional farewell to the Arsenal faithful ahead of his move to Juventus.
Aaron Ramsey began his career at Cardiff City and after a string of impressive performances for the Welsh side the 17 year old gained the attention of Manchester United and Arsenal. During the Summer of 2008, Arsene Wenger convinced Ramsey to join the Gunners over Manchester United for a fee of £4.8 million after personally meeting Ramsey’s family.
Ramsey was growing in influence with his progress during his second season with the club but a horrific tackle by Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross curtailed his progress. A double fracture of his tibia and fibula in his right leg became one of the defining moments of his career.Fortunately for Ramsey and Arsenal his rehabilitation process went well and he returned to action after 13 months.
He spend short loan spells at Nottingham Forrest and Cardiff City during the 2010-11 season.However,he struggled to live up to his mercurial talents during the following seasons and some Arsenal fans even called for Ramsey to be sold.
However,Arsene Wenger remained loyal to Ramsey and the Frenchman’s faith paid off during the 2013-14 season. Ramsey played in a box to box midfield role and flourished for the Gunners. He scored all types of goals-solo goals,Long distance goals,Volleys,Tap-ins for the gunners. Surprisingly,he also amassed the most number of tackles(52) for the Gunners during the season which established him as the best midfielder in the league alongside Yaya Toure. Ramsey amassed 10 goals and 9 assists in 23 appearances for the Gunners during the season and was named in the PFA Team Of The Year.However,the best was yet to come from Aaron Ramsey as he scored the winner in the FA Cup final against Hull to end a 9 year trophy drought for the Gunners.
The following season he played in a slightly different role on the Right hand side of midfield and being the professional he is, performed the role in a professional manner and won another FA Cup in 2015.
Ramsey had a successful campaign with the Wales Squad in Euro 2016 wherein he helped Wales reach the Semi Finals and was subsequently named in the Team of the Tournament.
Another FA Cup final awaited the Gunners against Chelsea in 2017. Chelsea had just levelled the score 1-1 and it seemed that the match would go to extra time but Ramsey had something else planned and he scored from an Olivier Giroud cross to send the Arsenal fans into an ocean of joy.
Nowadays, there is a lot of debate surrounding the word ‘Legend’ and if Ramsey falls under the bracket of an Arsenal Legend? For a young kid to suffer a career threatening injury and coming back from that to score two match winners in FA Cup finals,always giving his 100 per cent in the Arsenal Shirt,Producing Match winning Perfomances against Spurs and lest we forget for being the Highest Scoring Central Midfielder in Arsenal’s History, I certainly feel that Aaron Ramsey has earned the right to be called an Arsenal Legend.
Aaron Ramsey’s bond with the club was highlighted in his farewell message: “It’s 11 years of my life that I have spent here and so much has happened to me on and off the field.I have really grown up here. I am just grateful for the opportunity to play for this club for such a long time.“I’ve met so many great people here, made great friends and Arsene bringing me to the club and giving me that opportunity was pretty special.“To last this long, at a club like this, is something in itself. That doesn’t happen very often anymore, that’s why it’s so emotional and why the bond is so strong.“I just want to say thank you very much for all the fans’ support over the years, there has been a few lows but lots of highs and the bond has been so strong because I have been here for such a long time and they have been with me through thick and thin, watching me go from a boy to man.”
As an Arsenal fan it really hurts to see Rambo leave for Juventus but in all fairness,Ramsey of all people deserves to play for a top quality side where his qualities would be appreciated at a higher level.
All the Best,Rambo!
Watch here to see his best goals
