Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey adds gloss to victory over Olympiakos

Arsenal made a couple of late substitutions in this match, but that was no minor courtesy to the players introduced. It brought a welcome pause for the hosts as they held on to a 2-1 lead. A more luxurious moment came in stoppage time when the substitute Aaron Ramsey added a further goal with a very neat shot.

Arsène Wenger, serving a touchline ban, sat in the stands, leaving his assistant manager, Steve Bould, in charge. The latter saw a reaction to defeat by Chelsea last weekend. "It was tough, they made it tough for us. Without being fantastic," he said, "we got back on track before the weekend, which will be a tough game [at West Ham]."

There is something incongruous about thinking that a Champions League game could be some sort of warm-up for the Premier League. But, given their record, English clubs do have some cause to expect that a berth in the knockout phase is all but inevitable. Arsenal are more at ease in this competition than in domestic fixtures Victory was deserved here.

Olympiakos had shown endeavour but have now been beaten in both group games. Arsenal's concerns are marginal by comparison but they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past six matches.

Arsenal's command, to put it kindly, fluctuated against Olympiakos. They took the lead in the 42nd minute with a low drive by the dynamic Gervinho from the edge of the penalty area after a tackle by Mikel Arteta had brought the opportunity. Just before the interval, Olympiakos equalised when Kostas Mitroglou got free of Laurent Koscielny to head home a delivery from Leandro.

Although there has been a partial overhaul of the team, Arsenal sometimes look as if the European scene is the setting in which they are more likely to flourish, even if Olympiakos did check them in the opening 45 minutes.

Thomas Vermaelen, the Arsenal captain, was disappointed by his side's performance before half-time. "The second half was better – in the first half we were sloppy sometimes with the passing, we lost a lot of balls," the centre-back said. "We started well but the first half was not great."

It is unlikely that Wenger could have altered this contest immediately if he had been allowed his place in the technical area. His judgment, all the same, was felt to a degree. In the alterations to the lineup following the defeat here by Chelsea, there was no place for the centre-half Per Mertesacker. Bould, though, explained that the player has been unwell.

No one should suppose Wenger is a detached intellectual rather than an intensely engaged manager. It must have been agonising when there were no instructions to be given. The Frenchman would have yearned to communicate when the visitors might have scored in the 35th minute. Paul Machado was in position to connect with a cross from José Holebas, but merely lifted it over the bar.

Arsenal were busy enough but Olympiakos, already beaten in the group by visiting Schalke, were ready to take the risk of committing men into attack. The hosts had to deal with that increased purpose if this occasion was not to introduce anxiety to Arsenal's expectation of a simple advance to the knockout stage.

There can have been few neutrals among the onlookers but this match could have been regarded as a pleasure by anyone who cared for excitement and unpredictability. The home supporters, however, took a more intense satisfaction as a more forceful side claimed a 2-1 lead.

There was a mixture of insistence and quality when Gervinho linked with Santi Cazorla before the latter's cross was blocked and the ball ran back for him to set up Lukas Podolski for a goal. The real trial for Arsenal, then, had been the spasmodic nature of their work. Compliments were due to Olympiakos for their commitment. Excuses could be made for the fact that Arsenal continue to be a work in progress after some recasting of the squad in a summer that included Robin van Persie leaving for Old Trafford.

Olympiakos would have reckoned that a consecutive loss in the group would be irreparable, but not many visiting teams would have challenged Arsenal with such vigour on this ground.

Wenger's men, at times, were still striving just to make sure that Olympiakos were kept at bay. Instead of calming a match that Arsenal must have expected to win with some ease, there was a need to marshall forces and protect the advantage.

On this night, negotiating the stretch of the path towards the last 16 was full of jeopardy and, indeed, fascination.

Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 3 Oct 12

Why Ramsey On The Right Stifled City & Proved Arsenal Are Committed Left-Wingers

A lopsided Arsenal flooded the midfield and neutralised Man City’s wide men, dominating the first half on Sunday, before Mancini’s tinkering tightened things up at The Etihad

Sunday’s 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium between Manchester City and Arsenal made interesting viewing for a number of reasons. City are formidable at home, unbeaten since a defeat by Everton as far back as December 2010, whilst this was the toughest test for Arsène Wenger’s improved and resurgent team. As is inevitable with Roberto Mancini at the moment there was plenty to look at from a tactical point of view. Indeed, the game was an interesting battle in this regard, with interesting selection choices and adjustments throughout which altered the pattern of the game.

On twitter (not always the best place to judge, I admit) there was plenty of chatter and bemusement regarding the decision to select Aaron Ramsey on the right, as opposed to the other more naturally attacking options available to Wenger.

However, as I alluded to in my previous column, although Arsenal’s shape is a variation of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 it is heavily slanted with the left-side as the most attacking flank. The onus is on the right-sided player to contribute more defensively, operating in a deeper-lying and often more central area, meaning a ‘midfield-type’ in Wenger’s words is more suitable. Thus the choice was always going to be between Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain for the role – even without his contractual issues, Theo Walcott will only be an impact sub whilst Arsenal persist with this left-sided focus.

The chart below highlights the passes received by Ramsey in the first half when Arsenal were most dominant, which were predominantly in the middle third of the pitch and indicated his licence to roam and join the midfield collective centrally. Arsenal’s best bit of play resulted in Ramsey drifting into a central position and exchanging passes with Santi Cazorla before releasing Gervinho with a perfectly weighted through ball, although the Ivorian’s control let him down and the chance was wasted.

Mancini is clearly attempting to introduce a tactical fluidity to his side this year, to enable them to take varying approaches against different teams. In the long run this will most likely be of great benefit, however it is causing some short term niggles. Scott Sinclair was brought in, probably anticipating that Carl Jenkinson would be Arsenal’s weak link and City reverted to a variant of 4-4-2, with David Silva tucked in on the other side. However Jenkinson continued with his impressive performances meaning Sinclair had no effect on the game, while Silva also remained on the periphery. The player influence charts for the first half explain Arsenal’s dominance, as with the two City wide men on the edge of the game and Ramsey tucking in, it was effectively a battle of four against two. The intricate passing proved too much for Yaya Toure and Javi Garcia and, despite going into the interval a goal down, Arsenal were undoubtedly the better team.

Although it was Mancini’s tactical setup that hindered the team in the first half, the advantage of his tinkering is that the system can be easily changed if things are not working. The half-time substitution of Jack Rodwell for Sinclair was in response to Arsenal’s dominance in the central area of the pitch.

Subsequently, City had their best period of the game, subduing Arsenal and gaining a foothold in midfield. The player interaction chart for the second half shows City had a much more balanced shape in the second half, with Rodwell tucking in to form a midfield three at times and Silva allowed to roam to effect the game in more advanced areas. Although it may have appeared as though Rodwell had little influence on the game to the naked eye – he only attempted 15 passes in the second half, compared to Ramsey for example with 39 – he was introduced to perform a tactical duty and did so admirably.

It wasn’t until Wenger made two changes in the 72nd minute, bringing on Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, that Arsenal began to exert their influence on the game once again. Mancini’s tactical adjustment had neutered Arsenal up until that point, but the change in attacking focus gave City something new to think about. Giroud has received some overly harsh criticism already, which is particularly unfair given that he is a young player trying to adapt to a new league.

His presence as an attacking pivot was actually very useful and combined with his clever movement, he allowed Arsenal to advance further up the pitch and cause City some new problems.

Furthermore, with Theo Walcott occupying Gael Clichy and David Silva unwilling to track back, Jenkinson was afforded further space to attack into and offered another outlet in the final 20 minutes. Arsenal’s pressure told and they finished the game as the stronger of the two sides, equalising in the process before Gervinho wasted another great chance at the death.

For all the tactical nuances, the game proved to be a tight affair with set pieces required to provide the breakthrough at both ends. However there were plenty of positives to take from an Arsenal point of view, whilst Manchester City can and will undoubtedly improve.

Source: Marc Braterman, Sabotage Times on 25 Sep 12

Can we go back to 2011?

2011 might not have been great, but the start to 2012 has been dismal. Whilst most people see the New Year as a fresh start, Arsenal began the year looking fatigued and tired, and in serious need of refreshment.

Hopefully that refreshment will come in the form of a couple of new players, and some enthusiasm and encouraging performances from players in the FA Cup. Despite playing well in the first half against Fulham, the busy Christmas period took its’ toll on the team and they lost all control on the game.

Some of the fundamental mistakes that we hadn’t been making in recent weeks returned at Craven Cottage. The injuries and the red card didn’t help the situation at the back, but both goals that we conceded were avoidable, and came from individual errors. What also made the match immensely frustrating was that the last results of 2011 had all gone in our favour, and a win at Fulham would have put some pressure on those above us, and kept us in the top four. 2011 ended so well, and now at the start 2012, that feels wasted.

The first half at Fulham was good, and we restricted the hosts’ opportunities well. Had we shown more confidence in front of goal, the match could and should have been out of sight for Fulham at half time. Gervinho was a main culprit, but we still should have had a penalty when Senderos tripped him. In a traditionally difficult period of the season when results really are everything, we haven’t been helped by the lack of penalty decisions going our way. In the last five league games, we arguably should have had five penalties that weren’t given. Obviously there are no guarantees that the penalties would have been scored, but they’d have given us a much better chance of winning the games that we dropped points in. It seems that all of our bad luck with refereeing for the season has come at the same time, and at a bad time. Hopefully it’ll balance out later in the season.

Before a match, looking at who the referee is can generally give you a good or bad feeling about the upcoming game, and when seeing Lee Probert was officiating the Fulham match, I didn’t think we’d suffer from dodgy decisions. However there were minor and major ones during the whole game. How Riise swinging himself round Djourou’s legs, and pushing Walcott into the advertising boards aren’t fouls I’m not quite sure. Robin van Persie was also subjected to some strong challenges, and you couldn’t help but feel Neil Warnock’s comments about him at the weekend were in the back of the referee’s mind. Djourou’s first yellow card was justified as he was late and caught Dembele, however Murphy committed a similar, if not worse, foul on Djourou in the second half that didn’t earn a caution. All fans just want consistency. That made the second yellow that Djourou received very frustrating as there was minimal contact with Zamora, and nowhere near enough to pull him down. Djourou wasn’t completely innocent though as he should have been aware that Zamora might fall and should have made sure he didn’t leave himself vulnerable to a situation where the referee could send him off.

Overall, Djourou didn’t have a great match, as it’s clear he isn’t comfortable at full back. However he’s played there enough in recent weeks to be able to do a better job. His positioning might not have always been perfect, but Francis Coquelin put in a fantastic amount of effort as a make shift left back, and someone with the same energy would have been helpful on the right. When Djourou had gone off, I’m still wondering why Sebastien Squillaci came on. He’s out of form and has barely kicked a ball this season, so why not bring on Ignasi Miquel who would have been slightly more tuned in to the pace of the game. Miquel could have gone to the left and the quicker Coquelin could have gone to the right to deal with the dangerous Karim Frei.

Squillaci’s header for Fulham’s winning goal was bizarre to say the least. Surely the basics of defending say head the ball away from your goal, or out of play, and not across the goal. Squillaci chose to head it straight across the goal to claim a good assist for Zamora. It’s very easy to blame him because frankly he hasn’t been very good since we signed him, but in fairness to the Frenchman, he was thrust into a pressured situation for his first league appearance of the season, and had to play in an unfamiliar position. Although when we’re in a serious need of points to get into the top four, there isn’t time to be sympathetic.

The Fulham equaliser also came from an individual error. Wojciech Szczesny has generally been excellent this season, and has put a firm end to all questions about Arsenal needing a new goalkeeper, however he showed he’s still young and learning his trade when he was caught out from a corner. Had that been Almunia, Fabianski or Mannone, fans might have been calling for an immediate replacement, however there is a sense with Szczesny that the mistake was an isolated incident. The Pole hasn’t made the number of mistakes that the other three have, and has the confidence to get over it. While one mistake leads to another for other players, we’ve seen that Szczesny improves following them. You only have to look at his form since the Carling Cup final to know that. Hopefully the same will happen again. In the context of the Fulham match though, his eagerness to come out of goal cost us.

As much as individual errors and refereeing mistakes contributed to the defeat, the bigger problem was how the team, and particularly the midfield, faded massively in the second half. Fulham did improve after the break, but we allowed them the possession to do so, and couldn’t keep it ourselves when Fulham attacks did break down. Arteta and Ramsey both looked knackered, and when they did have the ball, they weren’t able to ping it forward into space for the quicker players to run onto, as they weren’t making themselves available for that type of pass. It would have released pressure and made us dangerous on the counter attack.

Of the quicker players, Walcott in particular had a poor game. He missed the Wolves game because of a virus, and he could still have been feeling the effects in the QPR and Fulham games. If he was struggling, why was he risked in both games when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is waiting in reserve? Rosicky would have been more effective coming on in the centre to replace the tiring players in there, and bringing Oxlade-Chamberlain on would have meant we’d have had the option of pace on the counter attack.

I thought Laurent Kosicelny and Per Mertesacker both played well, and both did their best to hold the lead that Koscielny gave to us. Even though both looked fatigued, they dealt with Fulham’s forwards well. The only time Zamora was given any real space in the box was when he scored at the end, although that was when he was in an area that the inexperienced full-back Coquelin should have been covering, and he only received the ball from Squillaci’s poor header.

The defeat means we haven’t come out of the Christmas period as well as it looked like we would do at the end of 2011. If this is what the rest of 2012 is going to be like, is it too late to go back to 2011?

There is cause for optimism though. The players will have had a full week without a game before we face Leeds in the FA Cup on Monday, and then don’t play for another six days before Swansea, so hopefully they’ll regain some fitness. There will inevitably be some changes for the Leeds match as well, meaning we should be refreshed for Swansea.

The team selection for Leeds will be interesting as there is scope for changes in most areas of the pitch, and it’ll be anyone’s guess as to who lines up at full back. With Sagna supposedly nearing a return, I doubt Arsene Wenger will make a big signing at full back, so we’ll probably see two from Yennaris, Coquelin and Miquel filling those berths against Leeds. Hopefully it’ll be a chance for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to show he’s worth trusting in the Premier League. Yossi Benayoun, Tomas Rosicky and Andrey Arshavin should also all be in contention for starts.

Whilst there is a need for changes, we must take the match seriously. The replay against Leeds in the third round last year added to the fixture congestion, and as we play Manchester United in January, we need the tie dealt with, and our name in the fourth round.

This post has mostly been doom and gloom, but there is one name that makes me want to stay in 2012, and should get all Arsenal fans excited for the first two months of the year, even if not in terms of his current footballing ability, but just as an icon who we want to see in red and white again. Thierry Henry. Enough said. Bring on the next two months Gooners!

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 5 Jan 12

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey leaves it late to make a mark at Marseille

For Arsène Wenger any result against Marseille will always taste that little bit sweeter and when it comes courtesy of an injury-time winner, the emotion can only be intensified. The Arsenal manager will always harbour ill feelings toward the French club for the corrupt practices in the early 90s which he felt undermined his Monaco team, but tonight he could reflect with satisfaction upon a stoically accomplished job.

The victory gained was not pretty and the tie could be filed under one for the committed. Certainly, there was plenty to admire about Arsenal's resilience, which was epitomised by the man-of-the-match Laurent Koscielny, and having drawn the sting from what had shaped up as an intimidating game, they grabbed the glory at the death, when all of their substitutes combined to devastating effect.

Johan Djourou slung over a cross from the right, Gervinho touched the ball on and there was Aaron Ramsey, in yards of space, to drill low and unerringly into the near corner. Wenger had demanded four points from the two games against Marseille to top the group and avoid the other group winners in the last 16. He is emphatically ahead of schedule before the return with Marseille in two weeks' time.
Wenger might joke that smash-and-grab raids were more suited to the Marseille of the Bernard Tapie era, yet his team snatched all three points. They had endured a nervous start but gradually they wore down their opponents, who lost their way and their attacking vim. Towards the end it was Arsenal who created the chances and even Didier Deschamps, the Marseille manager, admitted that Ramsey's goal had been coming.

Arsenal have not gained renown on their European travels in recent times. They arrived in the south of France with only three away wins since the beginning of the 2008-09 season (excluding play-offs) and, despite Marseille's domestic toils and the intense pressure on Deschamps, there was a feeling that this tie represented their toughest assignment in the group.

It was cagey at the outset, with Arsenal pock-marking their play with errors, and the first-half was most notable for three handball controversies, with Marseille feeling the sense of injustice first. Jérémy Morel's cross from the left appeared to strike Carl Jenkinson's arm and although unintentional, the penalty pleas looked to have grounds. André Ayew's protests were so vociferous he was booked.

Arsenal's penalty claim was only visible after TV replays, but at the time they were more aggrieved that Robin van Persie's looping header following Mikel Arteta's corner had been cleared off the line by Alou Diarra. Upon closer examination it was clear that the defender Souleymane Diawara's hand had pawed at Arteta's delivery.

André Santos made up the hat-trick. Already booked, harshly, for a check on Mathieu Valbuena, Arsenal's left-back went for a header, missed it, but with an arm outstretched, he handled. The Brazilian was fortunate that the referee did not deem it worthy of a second yellow card.

Wenger seemed happy to contain in the first half. There was little incision or tempo from his team, despite Van Persie's inventive movement off the ball. They were also grateful to Koscielny for a perfectly timed tackle on Loic Remy, and Lucho González missed the only real chance of the half when he touched wide from Valbuena's cross.

It was stodgy fare. Arsenal struggled to get much out of Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin, but eventually they took control of the midfield. Patience was the watchword and Marseille, who looked happier on the counter-attack, could not force the issue.

Arsenal lost Jenkinson on the hour after he stretched his right knee when making a routine clearance. Wenger's headache at right-back deepened. Already without Bacary Sagna due to a broken leg, Jenkinson is his only other specialist in the position. Djourou came on in his stead.

Wenger could be pleased with the discipline that his team showed. The often-maligned Koscielny barely put a foot wrong and together with Per Mertesacker and Song in front of them, he helped to restrict Marseille. Wojciech Szczesny did not have a save to make while Arteta was neat and tidy throughout.

Arsenal created more openings as the game wore on. From Rosicky's pass after 64 minutes Walcott got the better of Nicolas N'Koulou, who was guilty of a slip and the winger wriggled through on goal. Steve Mandanda, though, narrowed the angle to block. The Marseille keeper had to repeat the feat to deny Van Persie soon after but he was powerless and exposed when Ramsey struck. Wenger's men now have one foot in the knock-out stage.

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 19 Oct 11

Luis Suárez and unlucky Aaron Ramsey give Liverpool win at Arsenal

For the second week in succession, Arsenal had a man sent off and failed to score a goal, but for Arsène Wenger at the moment, it never rains but it pours. Just as a patched-together Arsenal side seemed likely to hold out for another draw, after being held in the goalless opener at Newcastle, a freakish own goal handed Liverpool three points they barely deserved, the unfortunate Aaron Ramsey's match-changing moment a smack in the face for his manager.

Kenny Dalglish will not be complaining about that, though there was more evidence here that, in addition to paying over the odds for Andy Carroll, he may not be able to build a side around the powerfully built centre-forward as quickly as he may have imagined. Liverpool barely looked like breaking the deadlock here until the £35m former Newcastle player was taken off.

By the end, with Arsenal losing their composure, the visitors were able to add insult to injury with a second goal, in the final minute, their two substitutes combining for the second time in their short spell on the pitch to leave Luis Suárez with a tap-in.

Jamie Carragher admitted afterwards that being held at home last week had been a downer for everyone at the club and, though this result will provide a tonic, the margin by which Liverpool improved when Suárez and Raul Meireles came on, midway through the second half, was revealing, though allowance ought to be made for the fact they were now playing against 10 men. Yet, for more than an hour, even with Arsenal reduced to fielding a rookie centre-half after Laurent Koscielny limped off after 17 minutes, Carroll's predictability failed to pose them any major problems.

"We just about deserved to win," Dalglish said. "We have a stronger squad than last season and, when you have two substitutes of that quality to bring on, they deserve the chance to make a difference. It wasn't easy, but at least our season is up and running now. It was a better performance than last week and we didn't concede a goal. The new players have had a week to settle in and we are beginning to see what they are capable of."

Wenger was less impressed, not without reason. He lost two more players, and thought the crucial goal should have been disallowed. "With a sending-off and an offside goal, the result was very harsh on us," the Arsenal manager said.

Surprisingly, Wenger turned out not to have been joking when he hinted Samir Nasri might play. The supposedly Manchester City-bound Frenchman not only appeared in midfield, he seemed perfectly happy to do so. People have been saying all summer that Wenger is too careful with his money, yet here he was taking a bold gamble with a chip worth £20m, amid rumours that talks between the clubs have broken down. Dalglish was slightly more cautious in his selection, leaving Suárez on the bench and asking Carroll to play with just Dirk Kuyt's occasional company up front.

That did not immediately look too threatening a combination, though, when Koscielny broke down after a quarter of an hour, Arsenal had to fill in at centre-half with Ignasi Miquel, making his first Premier League appearance, and the balance tipped a little towards the visitors. Certainly, the Arsenal fans initially had cause to be worried when Miquel mistimed his jump and failed to cut out the first Stewart Downing cross he had to deal with, leaving Carroll a free header that Wojciech Szczesny had to dive to save. It turned out not to be a portent of what was to come.

Jordan Henderson also brought a save from the Arsenal goalkeeper, though, with fewer crosses landing on Carroll's forehead than Dalglish must have been hoping, it was perhaps significant that the nearest Liverpool came to taking the lead in the first half was a shot from exactly halfway by Charlie Adam, one that had Szczesny back-pedalling, but that flew a couple of feet too high.

Arsenal came back into the game before the interval and twice came close with direct approaches, one when Pepe Reina dived low to keep out a drive from the impressive Emmanuel Frimpong and then when Nasri left Lucas Leiva chasing in vain with a run through the middle to flash a shot narrowly wide.

The second half, played in a steady downpour, was as drab and depressing as the London weather until several things happened at once, with 20 minutes left.

First, Robin van Persie brought a scrambling save from Reina with Arsenal's first decent attempt since the interval, after a shot from Martin Kelly had shaved a post at the other end. Then the impetuous Frimpong dangerously left a foot in against Lucas to collect a second yellow to add to the one he received for obstructing a throw in the first half. Finally, and not before time, Dalglish replaced the labouring Carroll with Suárez, who at least promised finesse. Together with the other Liverpool substitute, Meireles, Suárez helped conjure a goal in a matter of minutes.

It was not much of a goal, more a comedy of errors in the Arsenal defence that ended with Miquel's attempted clearance striking Ramsey in the chest and looping back over a stranded Szczesny, though the situation came about because Suárez, who had actually strayed fractionally offside, was trying to reach a return pass from Meireles.

Just a few minutes of cleverness and movement brought a greater reward than the previous hour-and-a-bit's attempts to play the ball up to the big fella, a point re-emphasised by Liverpool's second goal. It could have gone either way while Carroll was on the pitch, but, at the end, it was the Arsenal fans moaning bitterly about not seeing value for money.

Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 20 Aug 11

Aaron Ramsey shines for Arsenal against Manchester United

The Welsh midfielder's long road back to the Arsenal team reached a significant staging post in an important victory

Would you give a new long-term contract to a player still on crutches after suffering, with a double fracture to the tibia and fibula of his lower right leg, an injury that has ended careers? Arsène Wenger did, on 1 June last year, and on Sunday Aaron Ramsey repaid his faith, scoring the goal that puts life back into the Premier League title race while showing Arsenal that they are still capable of winning a high‑pressure game.

Ramsey was playing because Cesc Fábregas had suffered a blow on his thigh in training. The 20-year-old Welshman has been working his way steadily back towards the first team since playing his first match for the reserves last November, nine months after his bones snapped under the impact of a reckless challenge by Ryan Shawcross of Stoke City. As part of his rehabilitation he was sent out on loan, first to Nottingham Forest and then to his old club, Cardiff City, before being recalled at the end of January. He made his first appearance from the bench against Manchester United in the FA Cup on 12 March, and a week later he was in the starting line‑up against West Bromwich Albion.

His second start came here in this game, in one of the most important matches, in psychological terms, of Arsenal's season. Having seen their challenge on three fronts crumble in the space of a fortnight with defeats by Birmingham City in the League Cup, Barcelona in the Champions League and Manchester United in the FA Cup, another reverse against United would have extinguished their slender hopes in the Premier League. The loss of Fábregas on the eve of the match was hardly the most helpful of omens.

Before his dreadful injury, Ramsey was looking like a replacement for the Spaniard, showing himself to be on the brink of becoming the captain's equal in terms of mobility, tactical awareness and deft passing. His leadership qualities had also been in evidence, notably with Wales's Under-21 squad, while his full international debut at 17 made it seem as though he had the potential to become his country's finest all-round footballer since John Charles. All of this could have been swept away by Shawcross's impetuous lunge.

Against United here Ramsey lined up alongside Jack Wilshere in central midfield, in front of Alex Song and behind the front three. It was always going to be interesting to see how the Anglo-Welsh partnership functioned as the youthful engine room of a sometimes misfiring team, and their neatness and persistence were at the heart of Arsenal's early dominance.

But how many times have we witnessed Wenger's current squad begin a match with a flood of precise short-passing approach work, only to see a majority share of possession and pressure avail them nothing? All it takes on such occasions is a couple of offside decisions and a handful of wastefully misplaced passes, and the air starts to leak out of the balloon. That was the feeling among the home fans at half‑time, with the added pain of the refusal of a clear penalty when Nemanja Vidic used his hand to deflect Theo Walcott's cross away from the head of Robin van Persie.

Ramsey had begun that move, in just one of several constructive interventions during the first 45 minutes. Only the occasional over-elaboration in his exchanges with Wilshere, and a weak shot from a promising position just outside the United area, spoiled the good impression made by a player whose graceful, economical movement and general alertness make him a pleasure to watch.

At the start of the second half Arsenal's supporters were nursing the fear that they had seen this movie before, and United were doing most of the attacking when Sir Alex Ferguson, having shown signs of displeasure with Anderson, replaced the Brazilian with Antonio Valencia. Thirty seconds after the switch, while Park Ji-sung was adjusting to his new role in the centre of midfield, Ramsey's moment arrived.

With the ball at his feet just inside the United half, he made a handful of yards before measuring a pass to Van Persie on the right. While the Dutchman was forcing Patrice Evra to back off on the edge of the penalty area and manoeuvring the ball on to his left foot, Ramsey ran on to meet the careful return with an accurate right-footed shot inside the left-hand post.

His success condemned Arsenal to endure a final half-hour of pressure from the visitors, who were keen not to become the fourth of this year's Champions League semi-finalists to lose over the weekend. Ramsey shouldered his share of the defensive burden, although by bringing down Park, blocking Michael Carrick's cross with his arm and taking Rooney's legs at the same time as the ball in the fourth minute of injury time, each offence committed just outside the Arsenal area, he also succeeded in adding to the suspense. On balance, however, Wenger will feel that the day gave him not just three points and a welcome boost to the squad's morale but the restoration of a player who can play an important part in the club's future.

Source: Richard Williams, The Guardian on 1 May 11