Arsenal fans will be reflecting on their time with Aaron Ramsey a little differently now following the comments of Juventus’ Sporting Direct Fabio Paratici, who firmly believes the Welshman’s talents were wasted in the roles both Wenger and Emery have insisted on playing him.
Reports from Sky Sports have recently confirmed Italian giants Juventus as the next destination for long-term Gunner Aaron Ramsey, who joins the likes of Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini, and former Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczęsny, in his next season of professional football.
Although Ramsey has shown undeniable quality in the past 11 years, amassing a total of 62 goals and 64 assists, we always got the feeling that there was more to come from the player expected to be the next best thing in north London. And it seems Juventus agree with us.
According to the Standard, Fabio Paratici considers Ramsey a ‘mezzala’ – an Italian phrase for the players operating on either side of the central player in the 4-3-3 formation.
“He is a different player from what we have got,” he said. “We don’t have someone like him in our squad.
“Ramsey is a player who, I reckon, has never found his position, because he has never played as a ‘mezzala’ in a three, which is his role.”
So, given this information, do we feel like Ramsey was a wasted talent? Yes and no.
There’s no doubt he could have done more with his career at Arsenal, but the same could be said about most of the stars who played there. And the positions he operated in, which Paratici has criticised, suited their style of play, and the Premier League.
We’ve already seen Sarri try to implement the ‘Serie A style’ 4-3-3 to poor effect, so there’s no guarantee it would’ve worked with Ramsey during his earlier development.
On the other hand, if he had made the move earlier in his career, maybe he would have excelled in his new-found role.
Unfortunately, we’ll never know. Still, Arsene Wenger could have done a lot more to accommodate him in a more natural role. Indeed, those behind the scenes at Juventus clearly know what they’re doing when it comes to scouting players – their recent transfer record says as much – and if even they don’t think he’s been used correctly, the blame largely lies with Le Prof.