Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored in the 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon, and it was an example of how important the Welshman will be in the coming weeks.
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With Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla expected to sit out for a significant period of time due to injury, as reported by The Telegraph, Arsene Wenger is undoubtedly running short of options ahead of a busy Christmas schedule.
The French tactician received a boost with Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making their return to action, but his midfield has been decimated by injuries and in turn he has been forced into a reshuffle.
That reshuffle has seen Ramsey moved into his preferred central role alongside Mathieu Flamini, with the Frenchman asked to play the holding role in a similar way to how Francis Coquelin played so successfully to help the Gunners sustain their early Premier League title push.
While Mesut Ozil will naturally be tasked with being the creative hub of the side, Ramsey not only needs to support the German international in that sense, but he must also be an option in the box alongside the likes of Olivier Giroud in order to give Arsenal a clinical edge in the final third.
The former Cardiff City starlet has had some very respectable returns in terms of goalscoring tallies in the last two seasons as he has moved into double figures in all competitions on both occasions.
For all of Arsenal’s impressive build-up play though, there needs to be an end product to ensure that they cope without Sanchez, Cazorla and the others in order to maintain their place at the top of the table as they currently sit just two points adrift of league leaders Leicester City.
To ensure that Giroud isn’t isolated up front and has players around him that can make the difference, Ramsey has to step up and deliver. If he does, then Arsenal supporters can be confident that they have the players available to keep their hunt for silverware alive at a pivotal point of the season.