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Former Cardiff City manager Dave Jones has opined that Aaron Ramsey should have moved to Manchester United rather than Arsenal in 2008. Jones alsoclaimed he knew Ramsey, who was exceptional, would feature sufficiently in Arsene Wenger's squad, who was Arsenal's manager at the time.
In a discussion on the World Class Stamp Podcast, which was centered on Cardiff and Ramsey, Jones said (via TBR Football):
“Ramsey shouldn’t have gone to Arsenal. I wouldn’t have let Ramsey go to Arsenal. I wanted him to go to Man United. Yeah. Because Fergie was going to let me have him back on loan. I knew if he’d have gone to Arsenal, I knew Wenger would play him because he was that good. But Fergie was going to send them back to you straight away. So you’d never really know how good he was.”
Before the commencement of the 2008-09 term, the Gunners secured the signing of Ramsey from Cardiff for a reported €6.40 million. After his first stint at the Emirates Stadium, the Welshman sustained a critical leg injury in 2010.
This saw him move to Nottingham Forest and Cardiff on loan to gain match fitness. However, his unfruitful loan stints at both clubs did not last more than two months, and he returned to the Emirates in February 2011.
Ramsey then grew through the ranks and became a regular at the Emirates till he left the club as a free agent in July 2019. The Welsh midfielder registered 60 goals and 64 assists in 369 games for the north London outfit.
"I felt really wanted by Arsenal" - Aaron Ramsey on his move to the Emirates rather than Manchester United
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Wales v Korea Republic - International Friendly - Source: Getty
Aaron Ramsey once stated he felt truly wanted by the Gunners, which fueled his move to the club in 2008. He also claimed that amid the clubs that were interested in signing him at the time, the Gunners did everything possible to secure his services.
In a discussion on his breakout move to the Emirates, Ramsey revealed (via TBR Football):
“Towards the end of that season, I had a few clubs sniffing around. I had messages left on my phone from Sir Alex Ferguson. I went to David Moyes’ house at the time. I jetted off to Switzerland to see Arsene Wenger because he was doing the Euros press at the time.”
He added:
“It was a surreal moment, I felt really wanted by Arsenal, they went above and beyond, it was crazy, a few weeks before I was at Cardiff and then I was playing amongst some of the best players in football.”
Ramsey won three FA Cup titles (2014, 2015, and 2017) with the Gunners. He also registered three Community Shield wins during his time in north London.
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Abel is an European football journalist who focuses primarily on analysis pieces and preview copies at Sportskeeda. A B.Sc degree holder in Economics, he has a previous work experience of 3 years – a year at Opera News Hub where he was promoted as a 'Verified Sports Writer,’ and over two years at Sportskeeda as a revenue-share writer, where his writing skills have ultimately led him to be integrated into the in-house team.
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Edited by Ritwik Kumar