Is Ramsey the new Flamini

[AKBapologist]

Before his leg break, I always saw Ramsey as an attacking player, a frank lampard style - goals from midfield type player who was clinical in the box and could be counted on to pop a decent shot in.

Then stoke happened.


And then he was reliably shit, a David Bentley style player, always trying the fancy shit without ever pulling off the basics, getting dispossessed, playing denilson-esq hospital balls and just switching off at completely the wrong times. I figured he was shot...

30 games later however. He's learnt how to do the basics again, stopped looking knackered after 30 minutes on the pitch, there are the odd hospital balls now and again, but they are the exception rather than the norm. He never did get back his preditorial instincts infront of goal, but instead, it seems, he learned something far more valuable. He learned how to tackle. He has some of the best tackling stats in the league, frequency, success rate, miles covered per game. He and Arteta, have probably just as much to do with our no loses in 10 games as our back line. I don't think I've seen this level of tenacity combined with an engine, since Flamini, and it can only get better. Aaron Ramsey won't reach his peak as a footballer for another 5 years, and if he continues this level of commitment then who knows who we'll be comparing him to next.

Thoughts?

[Munchies]

No way, the thing with Ramsey is we all hoped he'd be a Cesc sort of player, a player who had vision and good passing ability.

He doesn't.

So right now he's basically a Park-Ji-Sung sort of player, not good at anything but not that bad either and still puts a shift in.

Good for a squad player, but shouldn't start imo.

Flamini was amazing at covering our defence.

[JonasTC]

Right now im mostly leaning towards what Munchies are saying - His technical ability isnt good enough for our level.

But at the same time, how much he have improved during 2013 is amazing and im willing to give him another season, to see where he takes this

[Gooner23]

Definitely improved as the season went on, but that's not saying much considering how average he has been since the leg break.

I like his endeavour, and he certainly works his socks off. But for me, he's not a natural holding mid. Still has a habit of over complicating and getting caught on the ball in dangerous positions. His passing is also very limited.

All that being said, I think he could develop into a very useful squad player.

[BOBN]

I dont see this tenacity people talk about. He does everything in slow motion.

Flamini carried Fabregas, did the work of two men. Ramsey is barely carrying himself.

[Marc Overmars]

I agree Ramzi is more of a grafter these days, he's carved out that role for himself now. Technically I think he's fairly limited but he doesn't infuriate me as much as he used to.

Still think we need to upgrade our central midfield though.

[Power n Glory]

I think it’s all mental with Ramsey. He’s not that bad technically but it’s his decision making that really lets him down and he needs to do things a lot quicker when on the ball. He’ll develop into a better player if he plays further down the field like a DM. He just needs to get better at finding space, turning on the ball, simple ball distribution and keeping the team ticking. I was impressed with one of the games I saw where everything was just flowing for the kid. When playing deep and under pressure, he didn’t panic, he just turned his man and laid off simple passes to a free man that wasn’t under pressure. That’s what I like to see.

[LDG]

I think it’s all mental with Ramsey. He’s not that bad technically but it’s his decision making that really lets him down and he needs to do things a lot quicker when on the ball. He’ll develop into a better player if he plays further down the field like a DM. He just needs to get better at finding space, turning on the ball, simple ball distribution and keeping the team ticking. I was impressed with one of the games I saw where everything was just flowing for the kid. When playing deep and under pressure, he didn’t panic, he just turned his man and laid off simple passes to a free man that wasn’t under pressure. That’s what I like to see.

I agree.

I think he times runs well going forward, and get's in the right positions. He's definitely got an engine, though not brilliant pace. He has an eye for a pass, but he's in a rush too much sometimes.

I know you don't particularly like Arteta (PnG), but Rambo needs to look at how he plays it simple.

[Power n Glory]

Arteta is a good example for positioning when defending. He knows he's slow so he doesn't go bombing all over the pitch. He has discipline and that's something Ramsey will have to learn. I like his energy but I think the middle needs to be compact and the three shouldn't stay to far from each other. Keep that tight triangle shape like we used to so there is always a passing option and nobody is isolated.

My main problem with Arteta is that he can be easily marked out of a game is reluctant to receive the ball even under minor pressure. I think Ramsey has the skill to take on that pressure and lose his marker with good shielding and quick turns. Someone that's able to play on the half turn/pivot. He just needs to stay calm and not rush his pass or come off to casual and nap like we've seen him do in the past. But we should avoid playing him high up the pitch near the whole. He can't play with his back to goal. It's too quick for him and he's too slow to react to what he sees. Needs to play off instinct and get the execution spot on to play there.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

NO!

He's not good enough for the level we want to play at. Neither is Arteta.

We definitely need to replace those two - among a few others - with quality if we're really serious about a title challenge next season.