‘Gunners must find new deal for Rambo’
JACK Wilshere has urged Arsenal to keep “future captain” Aaron Ramsey at the club.
Wilshere left Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer citing a lack of assurances over playing time from manager Unai Emery.
Ramsey recently revealed he had expected to extend his 10-year Arsenal stay after his camp felt a new deal had been agreed with the Gunners hierarchy.
But talks have broken down, with Ramsey’s current contract set to expire at the end of the season.
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.”
But talks have broken down, with Ramsey’s current contract set to expire at the end of the season.
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.”