In some games this season, Aaron Ramsey has looked like he is struggling to shoulder the responsibility placed on him by Arsene Wenger. Increasingly fans are becoming frustrated with the lacklustre nature of his performances, particularly during the 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane. Should we be more patient with Ramsey? The worry is that he may become the target of fans ire, much like Emmanuel Eboue before him. As supporters, we have to remember who has placed Ramsey in this position; there's only one Arsene Wenger.
There has been much discussion over a change of formation this season, with many claiming the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system employed in recent years was designed to optimise the impact of Cesc Fabregas on the team’s performance. Now that Cesc has departed, they say, we should revert to our traditional 4-4-2. I find this argument interesting, as I recall several years ago, when we still played 4-4-2, a number of fans on forums such as the now defunct 606, arguing for a change to 4-3-3 given the 4-4-2 formation had become 'outdated'. For whatever reason, and we can only assume he knows better than us, Arsene has decided to stick with 4-3-3. I happen to agree with this.
One thing I don't agree on is the lack of defensive discipline in the midfield three. And this is where Ramsey comes in. He has been asked to push up and play the Fabregas role, something he is capable of doing. However, it has become apparent that Ramsey lacks the match sharpness and composure to know what is going on around him - a characteristic Fabregas possesses in high measure. Ramsey needs experience to sharpen those instincts and hone his timing, but crucial games against Manchester United and Tottenham are not the time for him to learn.
This is why I hoped on Sunday that Wenger would announce a line-up which would include BOTH Francis Coquelin and Emmanuel Frimpong. Coquelin played fantastically well and showed good mental strength to do so after a hellish game at Old Trafford. I just believe that the extra solidity gained from having Frimpong in the team could have freed up Mikel Arteta to perform a role more natural to him - that of an out-and-out attacking midfielder.
Ramsey looked again as though he thought he had more time on the ball than he really did, with reality biting in the form, usually, of Scott Parker. After his goal, one may have hoped Ramsey would have had an improved performance - unfortunately he switched off at a throw-in in the lead-up to Spurs winner. These lapses in focus are costing the team and it is difficult to point out what Ramsey is contributing to the team at times.
Ramsey needs to be rotated to preserve his confidence, he needs to be taught about his defensive duties and we need to have some accountability within the side for defensive errors. I can only hope Ramsey looks back on recent performances, identifies where he has made mistakes and strives to wipe them out of his game. It might even be an idea to put Ramsey in the more withdrawn midfield role and tell him to focus on defensive duties for a while. Our players must learn from the Invincibles – they earned their right to play by doing the dirty stuff when necessary. The time has come for Wenger to place some of the responsibility on his players who have badly let him down.
We are still only 8 points off of a top four spot which is an easily recoverable position. The season is still young and talk of 8th place finishes is typically premature media hyperbole, much the same as declarations Chelsea had won the title last October, yet were out of the race after Christmas. They finished 2nd. The point is, there is still a lot of football to be played and Liverpool and Tottenham don’t have squads that large. If we can put a string of results together the crisis talk will be over.
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