Western Mail

Ramsey eyes Euro glory after missing out last time

-

AARON Ramsey wants to grab a second chance of Europa League glory when Rangers take on Eintracht Frankfurt tonight.

The former Arsenal midfielder missed the 2019 final in Baku with injury when the Gunners lost 4-1 to London rivals Chelsea.

The Wales internatio­nal has been in and out of the Rangers team because of injury since joining on loan from Juventus on the final day of January.

He missed both legs of the semi-final against RB Leipzig because of a hamstring problem, but he started two of Rangers’ final three league matches and desperatel­y hopes for better fortune ahead of tonight’s Seville showpiece (8pm).

The 31-year-old said: “It’s definitely right up there, to play in a final in a European competitio­n.

“They don’t come around very often. Unfortunat­ely I missed the Arsenal one a few years back, hopefully I can make up for it in this one.

“We got to the final and lost to Chelsea but for me to miss it though injury was tough but hopefully I get an opportunit­y now to make up for that.

“There’s a lot of energy around the place. Just looking forward to the game, you’re one game away from making history.

“It’s a great group, very levelheade­d squad, so there are no issues about anybody getting carried away.”

Rangers finished ahead of Sparta Prague and Brondby to make the knockout stages, where they saw off Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and Leipzig.

Ramsey came on as a late substitute as Giovanni van Bronckhors­t’s team triumphed 4-2 in the first leg in Dortmund and started the 3-1 second-leg win over Braga.

He said: “I know it’s obviously very difficult to reach this stage, you need a bit of luck along the way but some of our performanc­es have been brilliant.

“There is a lot of quality in this squad. For us to have done what we’ve done, I’m not surprised with what we’ve got and how we’ve gone about it.

“Now it’s about one more big effort to try and come away with the trophy. When I came here I knew about the atmosphere but until you actually experience it, it doesn’t quite do it justice.

“They’ve been absolutely superb throughout my time here.

“The European nights have been pretty special, the stands shaking and bouncing, it’s quite unique.”

Ramsey has a year left on his Juve contract but is expected to leave Italy in the summer. He will put his future plan on hold until the end of the season, which finishes with the Scottish Cup final against Hearts on Saturday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom