Aaron Ramsey says he expects Arsenal to be active in the transfer market this summer, but says that even if no purchases were made the current crop could mount a title challenge if they got off to a good start in the league.
The midfielder was speaking ahead of Wales’ European Championship qualifier against Belgium next Friday and said, “Even with this group of players now I believe if everyone was fit in the season we would have a great opportunity of competing for the Premier League.
“This team has come on a lot over the last few years and if we can get off to a good start next season we will challenge.
On the summer recruitment he said, “Every club brings in new faces and a few leave. The club is in a good place where they can afford not to let players go, we’re building on this team rather than seeing players leaving.
“It is a nice feeling and means that the group can stick together. The understanding is there already, so it can only get stronger.”
He also touched on the benefits of not playing a Champions League qualifier in August.
“If you sandwich a few Champions League fixtures in between them, that’s maybe too much for certain players at that time of the season,” he said.
“So it’s important to go through to the group stages without having that knock-out game to qualify. The good thing for us is not to have those games and hopefully that gets off to a very strong start.”
Watched the video of seasons goals and looking again with some objectivity and distance I have to say I’m not sure I’ve ever seen better technique when striking a ball than when Ramsey scored against Galatasaray. Simply outstanding
It defies physics. Probably the biggest complement I can pay him!
got a foot like a traction engine
worried he’d have his head turned by those unscrupulous bar-cunt rumours, no chance.
thank you for this. I almost forgot that goal, but now I have it playing over and over in my head again. Strike of the season. 2nd place is a toss-up between Jack and Sanchez.
Only thing more beautiful than that strike is his face right now. Hello!
Do you remember the free kick in the same game… out side of the boot… ooooof
For some reason I read the headline as: Ramsey ready for title tit.
Don’t think we will sign too many people. If we sign one player please make it Kondogbia or maybe a striker like J.Martinez or Higuain. But this is probably very unrealistic. We can only hope..
He’ll have to play much better next season if we’re to have a chance to win the title.
Nice one Tobin! Well done for thumbs downs!
Well before last season, we stayed on top of the table for more than the half of the season. Then injuries started. We still won the cup and finished forth. Last season we brought few in. Time for them to adapt and few more injuries. 3rd and another cup. Chad is clearly doing something right. They tend to come back quicker and in good shape. Look at Theo. The boy is now a true beast. Also jack. We need to purchase very few in key areas and keep the current squad. Buying 4 or 5 will be good but then… Read more »
So are we buying arturovictorwanmorgalin or Higusterlin?
Present squad is great, just some good back ups to sit on the bench
oh for the love of god
My gut feeling says its arturo vidal.
He s got UCL pedigree and he another fighter like alexis who is good technically and will add a lot of steel to our midfield. plus he s got only 2 yrs left on his contract and wont be more than 25-30 mils.
I dont think wenger is after sneinderlin . There were strong rumours last season as well but nothing materialized so i guess wenger is not that interested in getting him.
Not a selling club any more, players building up understandings between themselves, plus great spirit putting the team first despite the strong competition for places. Money to spend if the right players come along (which has happened the last two seasons), though the squad developed internally last season very well and will do as others kick on. Winning trophies at last, helps the mentality, and last season’s mistakes are there to be learnt from. All good dynamics. Let’s hope for a good start and the team being in position to challenge all season. No CL qualifiers and Shad have got… Read more »
It’s going to be a long summer for those who expect addition in forward department.
I think we’ll start looking for a striker only after Theo puts pen to paper, which will happen after his international duties, thats 2-3 weeks more.
Off topic but related to this mornings blog; I have to say that I would find the signing of Cech a very good one and here’s why: he’s a proven winner, we’ve just started to buy those again and lo and behold we’re winning trophies again. He lost his place to a younger player that Chelsea feared they would lose if they didn’t play him, due to his playing time with Madrid. He did well when called upon in their cup teams and he’s arguably better than van der Sar when he signed for United and he’s younger too. VDS… Read more »
So who makes way? Neither Ospina or Szczesny are going to be happy to be loaned so someone has to leave. That’s why I don’t see us signing a keeper as I really can’t see either of them moving on. Ospina has had a pretty successful debut season and Wenger has coached Szczesny for 9 years now and is unlikely to ship him off the back of a couple of silly, silly mistakes on and off the field. Also, why are Chelsea suddenly happy to sell to us? They wouldn’t loan us Demba Ba a few seasons ago. Is there… Read more »
Wow, just reminded myself of us scrabbling around a few days before the deadline trying to sign strikers on loan. If nothing else does, that shows how far we’ve come in a few seasons.
Szczesny and Ospina are good ‘keepers but they’re never going to win you the CL and probably not the PL either. Gone are the days when good is good enough for this club. You look at someone like De Gea and he probably won United 10/12 points. I don’t think either of our ‘keepers had he same impact.
You didn’t really answer the question unless you think we should let them both go which would be mental. I would argue Ospina is a good goalkeeper and that is all. But I still think Szcz has all the attributes to be absolutely world class. One of the best. I’d go into next season with Szcz back as number one, knowing he’s got Ospina breathing down his neck.
Ospina came here as second choice so he would be the obvious choice to go on the bench. He doesn’t have much competition for Colombia and going from 1st choice for Nice to 2nd choice for Arsenal is still probably a positive career move. I don’t think he’d kick up a fuss in the next couple of seasons. He also seems to me to possess a better mentality than Szczesny to step into random games without match fitness, although I’m not sure what I’m basing that on. Szczesny should be sent on loan. I don’t think his talent is as… Read more »
If I had to sell one then it would be Ospina. I think that he’s in the Fabianski mould in that he’s a very serviceable ‘keeper but is always upgradable. I think Szczesny could, potentially, be a great ‘keeper and could learn from someone like Cech about what it means to win and the desire to always win.
Also I read today that we signed Lehmann at the age of 33, a whole year older than Cech and we all know how that turned out. Jens had that winning mentality that passed through the rest of the squad, especially defence.
I think you are overplaying how important a keeper is down to the fact that de gea played out of his skin all season and was peppered with shots. I’m not saying they are useless.. far from it. just that your keeper is part of a back 5, and that as a whole is more important than a keepers quality. Loris doesnt win spurs half their points, though I’d rate him quite high. Same with Tim Howard or Begovic. basically keepers should stop you losing games, Strikers should make you win them. (begovic goal aside) I think wenger may change… Read more »
Do you know how many points Szczesny won us last year ? Was De Gea a great keeper three years ago ? Do you know that Mancini was publicly threatening to bench Hart for costly errors ?
I don’t think Barcelona have that fantastic a keeper. They have had to outscore teams. I believe Szczesny and Ospina are good enough if we get the other 10 playing well.
I also don’t think they’ll sell to us. At least without some ridiculous conditions attached like players in exchange that we don’t want to part with. As for who makes way, I think a season on loan at a club like Southampton (if the rumours are true) for Szczesny could do him the world of good. Playing regularly under less pressure to perform than at Arsenal could help him improve a lot and mature. Look at Fabianski this season. Not under the spotlight as much as his time at arsenal and finally performing to his ability. I still don’t think… Read more »
Keep Ospina who is happy to play second fiddle
Yeah, I agree. I think the confidence he would give to the defence would be huge too. And one position that would be sorted for a few years without having to worry.
I think we have good goalkeepers already but Cech would be a step up. Another leader and winner.
Completely agree. Ospina’s done well and seems like a nice bloke, but in an ideal world we’d have Cech as number 1 for a few years with szezcney behind him until he’s fully ready. Can’t see wenger getting rid of ospina after a year, understandably, but having Cech in goal could potentially improve us defensively as much as sanchez and özil have improved us offensively.
It’s a no brainer- if cech is available and wants to come to us, GET HIM.
Cech is better than both ospina and scz…no matter how you try and twist it. People saying that we shouldn’t get him because he’s second choice at Chelsea seem to be forgetting that Courtois is probably(if not) the best keeper in the league and has been world class for 3 seasons now and def better than what we have.
Same people said we didn’t need ozil since we had santi and jack.
My body is ready.
Trying to take a realistic look at who could/should leave this summer to see where we can improve our squad. Should Abou Diaby – Its unfortunate really but there isn’t room in a title winning squad for a player of his fitness record Flamini – He is a solid squad player and from what he says you can tell he values the teams needs over his first, but he is certainly someone we can improve on to give competition to, or an option instead of Coquelin. Podolski – He struggled to find a useful role in this Arsenal side and… Read more »
Your post wasn’t long enough.
Short posts are for the weak.
Holy shit we still have Miyaichi. I completely forgot he existed. In FIFA I managed to sell him to Newcastle for like 5 million. Brilliant business.
Thanks for sharing
Maybe it’s because I love Germans and Cologne but I still think Poldi can play up front in the manner that Walcott did. With Sanchez on the outside here should be loads of room for switching positions and tonking shots in from whereever they feel.
He didn’t fit into the Giroud style of
play but the team has shown they can play without a hold up type of striker. He is a good finisher. Hoping for Coq Part Deux.
I don’t think he can play up top for us… If you play giroud you get great hold up play but a lack of speed and movement, walcott gives you the exact opposite when he is up front.
But podolsky doesn’t hold it up especially well, he is not quick and doesn’t offer much movement so apart from a sledgehammer left foot what will he bring to the team?
Aha.
Give him the Djorou video segment gig. I’d totally watch that. And some late howitzer appearances. I suppose his wage is a bit much for that though.
It wasn’t the Giroud style of play, it was the Arsenal style of play that he couldn’t cope with. He was too static for this league and team and when he did play it slowed everything down. He was used to a team like Köln working for him rather than having to work for the team.
His work rate only really picked up when he realised he could be out on his ear.
I had to thumb you down for your handle and the picture. Come on, this is an Arsenal blog
Obv newb is obv
I was genuinely excited when we signed Podolski, a player with close to 100 caps in die Mannschaft is, by definition, world class. That enthusiasm has been on a downward trajectory ever since. Granted, some of his goals during his time with us has made me think “what if”, but overall I am now at a point where I simply do not see him take a place in the squad, much less the starting eleven. He was tried as a striker and was distinctly underwhelming. Sure he is probably the player with the best finish of any in the current… Read more »
Its funny how that turned out. We signed Podolski as a replacement for the soon-to-be departed van Judas in January then bought Cazorla and Giroud in the summer. Most of us hadn’t heard much impressive about either (nothing to compare with a guy that boasted 100+ caps for Germany of Bayern Munich pedigree). I was definitely more excited by Podolski than Santi or Giroud. In the end the best of the 3, on paper at least, was the worst suited in actuality and by some margin.
You know your team is in trouble when the goal keeper is man oof the match. We have 2 good ones, let’s make sure stickers don’t face to face with them too often and we will be alright
We are not going to buy a keeper. We do not need one. Ospina has the highest saves per shot percentage this season. Szsc is a young keeper with great potential who has been fast tracked and will only get better (Think Ramsey, Walcott, Nasri, Fabregas, Coquelin…all got better at 23yrs. need I say more) We have more important priorities to reinforce. Should Walcott not sign, we will need to spend on an attacking player who can play up front but also add nuance wide. Even if Walcott signs, we may need this player (even with Gnabry, Akpom and Campbell… Read more »