Three reasons Aaron Ramsey is destined to be Arsenal captain

For the past few seasons, Arsenal skippers have had the rather ironic task of writing program notes for matches they wouldn’t be involved in. Thomas Vermalean and Mikel Arteta are the last two Arsenal captains and both found themselves frozen out of the side. The former lost his place to Per Mertesacker after a string of bad performances and found himself third choice in the pecking order before his move to Barca. The latter suffered a serious ankle injury in November which ruled him out for the rest of the season, though the form of Francis Coquelin would have probably condemned him to the bench anyway.

My point? Wenger has dropped the ball when it comes to selecting the skipper recently, and with Arteta on his way out and the current crop of relatively young but seasoned veterans now cementing themselves, the time will soon come for Wenger to take his pick one again. Current vice captain Per Mertesacker is next in line and will get the nod for the foreseeable future, but with the German ageing as well, the next selection will be crucial.

For me Aaron Ramsey is the clear choice. The Welshman absolutely leads by example with his lung bursting charges into the box, and that kind of commitment screams of leadership. Box to box for the entire 90 minutes plus stoppage time, putting a real shift for the good of the team. Have a look at three reasons Ramsey is destined be a future Arsenal captain.

Rambo the great

As simple and shallow as it may sound, Ramsey already has the cult following that goes along with the captaincy. With all due respect to Arteta, his shirt doesn’t exactly go flying off the shelves, nor has he been given an awesome nickname from the fans. “Rambo,” as Ramsey has been affectionately named by gooners, has earned the name not just for the resemblance to “Ramsey” but for his fighting spirit and never say never attitude. His story is even similar to Rambo’s funny enough, having returned and persevered against all the odds following a string of injuries including the horrific double leg break against Stoke a couple years ago. Not quite the same as nearly being killed by bullet and knife wounds, but you get the point.

Follow the leader

More importantly, he has the backing from his teammates. His boundless energy and undying effort is appreciated and reciprocated by his colleagues, who genuinely take to him. This picture against Galatasaray last season is one of my favourites. After ramming in a spectacular effort on the half volley, Ramsey is circled by his teammates who are sincerely happy for him (as well as simply amazed) and flock to him like troops to their commander. Apart of that is due to the fantastic spirit and camaraderie in the Arsenal camp (evident by the ever buoyant Podolski conducting the classic shoe shine celebration), but a lot of it also down to the respect and admiration Ramsey has at the club. When he sprints halfway up the pitch and demands the ball, he gets it. The same way he gets a response when he charges in the other direction to put a foot in.

Plug the gap

Ramsey operated out of position on the wing for much of last year, and did his job without much of a fuss. That is the stuff of a true leader, doing what is best for the team and going about your business without a stir. He found a way to still be effective and impactful as well, a testament to his mentality as well as his talent. Being a leader means putting your own personal gains and ambitions in the back seat for the good of the team, and Ramsey did just that last season. It hasn’t gone unnoticed, and he has become one of Wenger’s key men and one of the first names on the team sheet.