Ramsey will not be treated as a special case, say Gunners
AARON Ramsey will not be treated as a special case just because he is approaching the end of his Arsenal contract, manager Unai Emery has said.
The Wales midfielder looks set to leave the Emirates Stadium in the summer after the club withdrew a contract offer, although Ramsey has revealed he is not planning to join a new club in January.
Emery’s focus is on Monday’s Premier League meeting with Leicester, and the boss is not prepared to prioritise Ramsey’s future as the Gunners chase silverware.
The Spaniard said: “I want his performance to be like the other players.’ For example, in the last match he started on the bench, then he played 25 minutes with this performance.
“On Monday it’s the same if he starts in the first XI or on the bench, to come with the focus for this match to help us. It’s not different (than it is) for other players.
“For me January is very far (away). I’m thinking about Monday’s match first. I want every player to stay OK, with the mentality to prepare, to play and (be) together to win.”
But Ramsey’s former Gunners teammate Jack Wilshere says Arsenal should pull out all the stops to keep the midfielder, whose wife Colleen this week gave birth to twin boys.
In an interview with the Islington Gazette, Wilshere said: “He’s grown up to be a great player with Arsenal. They could do with someone like him. We know what he can do for the club.
“For me he’s a future Arsenal captain. I know he loves the club. It’s difficult for me to comment on because I’m not there but I do know he’s a great player - if it was me I know I would want to keep him around.
“He’s a great guy to have around. He’s been at the club so long and knows it inside out. If you look at what he’s done for the club too.
“We went into the first team in the same year. He came from Cardiff and I came from the youth team. We automatically clicked because we were both young and new to that sort of environment.”
Wilshere, who joined West Ham following his Arsenal exit, believes the Gunners must secure Ramsey’s future to avoid losing him to a Premier League rival.
He added: “I think you’ve got to look at the situation and ask: ‘How many top teams in the Premier League and elsewhere could he get in?’
“And you’d have to say them all and that speaks volumes about the type of player he is.”
Former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger says he hopes a solution can be found.
“We tried that before and it still can happen,” Wenger said.
“But I don’t know how far Arsenal will go in terms of giving him a huge contract.”