Aaron Ramsey says that captaining Arsenal would be an honour, but has left us in no doubt that there’s some way to go before his future at the club is secure.
The Welsh international expanded on his comments from yesterday about a new contract, as he is now inside the last 12 months of his current deal, and although he insisted talks were ongoing he didn’t make it sound like any agreement is close to completion.
When it was put to him that he might be an option for captain, he said, “The captaincy is a massive responsibility and it would be an honour to captain this club.
“The manager is yet to decide so we’ll have to wait and see. But if the opportunity is there, I don’t think any player would say no. I’m no different.”
Arseblog News understands that the armband has been a feature of discussions between the club and the player’s agent, perhaps as an extra incentive to a new deal, but as yet Arsenal’s offers have proved insufficient for him to sign.
On that new deal, the 27 year old says he doesn’t feel any pressure – beyond questions from journalists who he likened to impatient children on a car journey.
“I’m excited to get going under this manager,” he said. “We’re just yet to come to an agreement.
“Whatever I decide to do, that’s on me. Do I feel under pressure? No. The only thing that makes it awkward is you keep asking the questions.
“It’s like having a baby in the car saying ‘Are we there yet, are we there yet?’
“I’m a player who always gives 100 per cent regardless of what’s going on. I will give absolutely everything to try to achieve something special this season, regardless.
“I’ve still got a year left and I’m looking forward to being in an Arsenal shirt in the new season.
“We have to come to an agreement with what we want, so maybe something might happen.”
Something might happen, ouch. It’s hard to be optimistic about this one, fingers crossed we can work it out.
Love Rambo and love his attitude. Don’t blame him for holding out. If the club don’t offer him what he wants, then good luck to him at whoever does.
I actually feel confident he’ll eventually sign. Where are the rumours that someone wants to buy him?
I’m sure his agent would have got some interested parties, that is an agent’s job.
West Ham…
Cardiff ?
Not sounding likely ‘so maybe something might happen.’
I reckon there is a large gap between what is being offered and what Ramsey wants (eg as much as Ozil).
For how long do we have to wait for an exclusive, “Ramsey slams impatient babies who travel in cars”
Maybe that’s why we should be looking beyond him. If we have to add in the armband so he can stay, how committed is he? He’s lucky he’s not Nasri or Adebayoor or the word greedy would be doing the rounds already.
We have a chance of rebuilding and it has to be done with commitment on the side of those staying. We’ve survived the exits of Vieira, Henry, Fabregas, v Persie, surely we can survive the exit of a lesser impact on an uncommitted player.
Survived but with several years of under-performance (though this was actually over-performance if we actually think what Wenger did with the players left).
To some extent it’s more to do with the image of the club. Not to the fans but players and agents. Not against Rambo as a person but what it means for Arsenal as a club. This is not dissimilar to the Walcott thing back then. So it no reason it could be the last. We are known as a club that considers stability first and at all costs. That’s why players and agents bully us. Much more than the perceived “weak” negotiations team. Players and agents bully us. That’s how Ozil got a fortune in wages. Theo back in… Read more »
Here here…
I think it’s hard to say that he is greedy. A direct comparison of his and Özil’s stats from last season (taking into account just Europa and PL) states that Ramsey scored 11, assisted 9 in 30 games, while Özil scored 5, assisted 12 in 33 games. (source whoscored.com). You could argue as well that Ramsey adds more to the team defensively as well, so if his attacking contribution is also better than Özil’s, then I don’t think wanting the same money as Özil is getting can be called greed. I personally would think in terms of how does the… Read more »
But Dude, Ozil is the best player that ever lived, actually he is the greatest human being that ever lived.
It doesn’t matter that in his 5 years with the club he has only had a good spell at the beginning & a 6 month period a few years back. Anyone that doesn’t think Ozil is the GOAT is obviously a bufoon that has never kicked a ball & just listens to the opinions of Danny Murphy & co.
In short, even though Ramsey is known as Jesus he can’t compare to Ozil who is a god.
If he gets more than Auba then we get another problem.
I think the problem ultimately is that Ozil, good as he is, is not really worth 350k a week. But because Ramsey is statistically outperforming Ozil from an attacking perspective, even though he plays deeper, he’s well within his rights to ask for something closer to parity, even though he’s not actually worth that either.
When we gave him that contract we bet the farm on Ozil and he hasn’t really delivered the goods yet. So even if we sell Ramsey and bring in an equivalent, they’ll also be looking at Ozil’s wages and thinking “I fancy some of that”.
Let’s not do the same mistake like with Ozil. If there is no agreement he must be sold. I guess he is asking far more than what the club is willing to offer. The fact that there are not even rumors linking him to another club shows that is not wanted for what he demands. Why should Arsenal succumb to blackmail?
It’s all very well saying “he must be sold” but Arsenal can only sell him if he agrees to go. So the club have to find not only a club willing to pay their valuation, but also the wages Ramsey wants AND be a club he wants to play for. With the incoming window closing in a couple of weeks it’s now a big gamble for the club; If he’s going to go, the window is open longer in Europe, but a replacement needs to come in first. That leaves the club in a weaker selling position and with the… Read more »
“Mistake we made with Ozil”
Pretty sure Ozil signed in the end! As for the lack of rumors, all that means is that his agent isn’t leaking/planting stories in the press. Honestly, you shouldn’t believe everything you read, personally I’m still waiting on Obafemi Martins!
The problem with Özil’s and Sanchez’s salary negotiations last year was exactly this — that it will raise the bar for all other players. Certainly we could have afforded even to pay Alexis what he wanted, but then for sure we’d have needed to give the same to Mesut and now the talks with Ramsey would have been for 100,000 more. And I think the club knew that, so I think it was actually quite smart that they managed to resign with so many players this summer. The only one left is Rambo, but I am sure they will give… Read more »
Wants and deserves are quite different things…
Once we agreed to pay Ozil massive wages to keep him, his contract will be used as a yardstick by other players. The reality is that Arsenal without a Sugar Daddy owner need to have a realistic wage limit. We want players who while being well paid,want to play for the club,not mercenaries holding the board to ransome. This isn’t having a dig at Ozil or Rambo but just a general comment.
That should be the old Arsenal. We’ve built a new image with the changes. Show players and agents you can replace an unsettled player and they’ll start to negotiate around their worth not want. We couldn’t sack a coach irrespective of poor results and had to beg our best to stay every summer. With Arsene gone I believe Emery will worry about results more so we might see more of the best getting chances not the favorites. The Alexis thing also worked out well. Mkhi has been a good replacement so that should kill the fears. If we pay Ozil… Read more »
Are we there yet?
We made a rod for our own back when we offered Ozil stupendous wages in January. Had the club been decisive last summer, it might not have come to this. I personally do not believe Ramsey will even be offered those wages, but could see the club offering him a little more than Aubameyang/Mkhi. Really hope he stays, but if he does not, the club needs to act swiftly and decisively. Genuinely believe Ramsey wants to stay, it will boil down to the money he wants, and what we can offer.
Imagine if Ozil was allowed to run out his contract, with the performance of the German team at the world cup and the controversy surrounding his retirement, I’m sure would have extended or signed a nee deal with us for far less than what he’s getting now. Rambo is one of my favourite Arsenal player, always given 100%, but he’s still not a world class player, Arsenal is supposed to have gone beyond been held to ransom by every average player, like Walcott did and Ramsey is doing now…
Auba isn’t the kind or guy who will get less than Rambo and stay quiet.
Sell him.
Honestly and even though I rate him highly, playing him and Ozil in the same side has always been a tactical problem. Add to that we have two top class central strikers… that’s just too many bodies in the middle
I agree. As much as I’d want to keep him, we cannot go into another season with this major distraction for the team, it could well undermine all the optimism pervading the club under the new regime.
We need to be decisive. It has to be done now, so that an adequate replacement or alternative can be signed in time.
Sell me. I’ll go to west ham if the moneys right
fuck ‘im, sell now.
It is hard to justify giving him a huge pay incentive when you look at his injury record. He has only managed 23, 22, and 23 games in three of the last five seasons, so only just over 50% of the games he could have played. He is a good player, but at 27 he is not going to become less injury prone. It could be a good time to cash in and bring in some fresh blood.
This is the critical point. Nine or ten regular starters played more minutes than Ramsey last season. That includes guys who had their own injury concerns like Kolasinac and Koscielny.
Personally, I don’t see him as a captain to this group of players. He’s statistically good enough to attract a big transfer fee, and he’s not impossible to replace. Over to you Mr. Mislintat.
If he goes we should get the Ox back at a discount. Liverpool signed 2 expensive midfielders this summer…
Even if that was a good idea, from what I understand the Ox has exploded his knees and will not play this season.
Ox is out for the season.
What has he achieved as a footballer to ask the same money or come close to Ozil’s wage…
Is there an argument for keeping him anyway? I know it didn’t work with Alexis, but to have a world class player on his current salary for a year may be worth it – and the transfer fee worth sacrificing if it gets us back in the top four.
Give him £200k and the armband and get it done. He must be first choice for the armband which is why the captain hasn’t been named yet, can’t give it to Ramsey if he hasn’t signed a new deal. He’s been at the club a long time and has always put a shift in, scored and makes goals. Hi attitude is spot on and he’s earned a decent pay increase.
I get the feeling he/his agent wants more than that …
“I’m a player who always gives 100 per cent regardless of what’s going on. I will give absolutely everything to try to achieve something special this season, regardless.”
To me, it sounds like he’s gonna see how things go under the new manager unless he gets offered Ozil money to stay.
As my posts on other articles will attest, I’m a fan of the lad and think he would make a great captain. I think some of the flak he gets is pretty incredible for someone with his credentials, and some of his faults from the last couple of seasons can easily be attributed to the system we were playing. Under Emery I think he’d be a stand out player and I’d be gutted if he left. HOWEVER, as someone else said over on another article, if we do sell (and there is no way we can let him run down… Read more »
Keep the captaincy far away from him. It’ll be sad to see our captain ditch us again
RvP
Fab
Vieira
Henry
Wish an interviewer would be direct enough to put to him that the club might decide to sell him if he won’t commit in the next two weeks, i.e. looking forward to pulling on an Arsenal shirt again this season might be incompatible with failing to reach an agreement by August 9th.
Wow..Even Alexis sounded more optimistic.not a good sign me thinks ?
It wouldn’t surprise me if he is waiting to see what pans out with the new manager, the system, his position. He doesn’t seem like a greedy type of player, and I think he wants to stay, but if I were him, I would want to see how the team plays when the new season starts. With the window closing early this year, it makes things more complicated, but I think he will sign eventually.
He’ll stay. No one else will pay him big boys money. Or at least as much. He’s silly playing too much hard ball though, with his injury record he’d be mad hanging it out too long
He either needs to sign or we need to sell and replace. Simple.
Obviously want him to stay but we don’t want a repeat of last season.
I like Rambo but he can’t hold the club to ransom. The club need to (if they haven’t) make a final offer and give him a deadline of 1 August to sign, if he doesn’t then we should take up the reported interest that there is in him and sell. We simply can’t be in the same situation as Ozil & Sanchez last year when they had us over a barell and in the end Ozil got a grossly over the top new deal and we received no fee for Alexis (granted we got Mikataryan in exchange). I like Rambo… Read more »
I hope he signs and I think he would make a good captain.. BUT, am I the only one that feels a little uneasy about the captaincy being offered to him as incentive to stay? It shouldn’t be for sale like that..
Here’s where I’m stuck. Want him to sign and stay, and bring this new start forward with his best years. Absolutely no doubt about that. Get that right out front. When I read this, I have to read it with knowledge of how much Aaron downplays everything he says to the media. It’s for good reason he’s not sought out for sensationalized quotes. He just doesn’t do that kind of media talk much. That I can appreciate too. But, if he’s leaning to not staying after next year, as a supporter I want return value for the club, now. Max… Read more »
I see a lot of people on here saying Ramsey can’t hold the club to ransom. But our best player has done that and the best players for all the other clubs do it as well. This is simply the world we live in people. And given their relative performances, Ramsey is well within his rights to want much closer to what Ozil is on. Just pay him and be done with it!