Arsenal may have signed four first first team players this summer but could still be in for a disappointing summer should negotiations over Aaron Ramsey’s contract continue to stall. Ramsey joined the Gunners from Cardiff in 2008 and has made 327 appearances for the club, scoring 58 goals. He has been a key member of the Arsenal midfield but is in the final year of his contract and could leave on a free next summer.
Ramsey is into the last year of his contract and Arsenal are keen to avoid the problems they had last season with Alexis Sánchez in the same position. The Chilean was distracted in the first half of the campaign before being sold to Manchester United.
The ever reliable BBC reporter David Ornstein delivered an update on the negotiations front.
The news should come as a worry for Arsenal fans as the same situation occurred last season leading star player Alexis Sanchez to be sold to rivals Manchester United in the January transfer Window after starting the season while in the final year of his contract.
“I am very happy with him,” Emery said of Ramsey. “Every training is with the ambition I want, working with quality and the competitive spirit I want.
I want to work with him. His future is a question for the player and club. I said to Ivan, Raúl and Sven [Gazidis, Sanllehí and Mislintat, the collective dealing with contracts and transfers] he’s an important player for me.”
Emery has been reworking his midfield, with a Uruguayan who impressed at the World Cup, Lucas Torreira, and the young Frenchman Matteo Guendouzi recruited this week. These changes prompted the departure of Jack Wilshere for West Ham; Emery said the pair had an honest conversation before a decision he described as “tactical and technical”.
Arsenal will kick off their Premier League campaign with a Sunday afternoon welcome of last year’s record champions Manchester city who only last week added to their collection of trophies with a comfortable 2-0 over Chelsea in the Charity shield season curtain raiser.