Player Focus: Rampant Ramsey the Difference for High-Flying Arsenal

The clamour surrounding the arrival of Mesut Özil, by some margin the most expensive Arsenal footballer of all time, has been subdued somewhat by the performances of a Welshman also playing in north London. For once, though, headlines are not being hogged by Gareth Bale's wondergoals, but instead by the efforts of youngster from Caerphilly who has stepped things up this season. Now entering his sixth year at Arsenal, it is hard to believe that Aaron Ramsey is still only 22, but he is finally showing signs of becoming the player that Arsene Wenger believed he could be all those years ago.

Özil has been a fantastic addition, not only for his supreme passing and vision, both unmatched by any other player in England, but also for the morale boost it gave the Arsenal faithful ahead of a campaign in what is arguably the most competitive Premier League ever. With 3 assists in just 160 minutes over 2 appearances on the pitch since signing, the former Real Madrid man leads the league for goals created, ahead of hundreds of players who have featured as many as 5 times already.

He has been an instant hit. Even without the assists he was always going to be. And yet it is Ramsey who has been most impressive this season. Maybe that is because prior to this term, he was seen as something of a negative in the Arsenal team, and this season has been such a contrast in that sense. Between his return to first team action for Arsenal from that injury he suffered at Stoke in Feburary 2010 and the end of last season, Arsenal won 45.3% of the 53 league games that Ramsey started, compared to 60.6% of the 33 matches without him. They were gaining an average of 1.63 points per game when the Welshman was in the starting lineup and 2.06 when he was missing from it.

Oft fielded as a 'defensive winger' in the big games to try and protect against the offensive threat of opposing full-backs, Ramsey was rarely given freedom to roam the pitch, instead utilised to try and keep the midfield narrow, compact and defensively sound rather than expansive and dangerous going forwards. The result was that he was seen as more of a countermeasure than a boost to the lineup. But what a difference there has been this season. In all competitions, Ramsey has already scored 3 more goals this season (7) than he has in any other in his career (4). In part due to injuries to Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby, he has been able to play from a central midfield berth with license to join attacks as well as being needed defensively, and the results have been astounding.

Ramsey has been more involved than just about any other Premier League player this season, with only Tottenham's Kyle Walker (502) having had more touches of the ball than the Welshman (489). But Ramsey has been operating all over the pitch. He has won possession in the defensive third of the pitch 18 times this season; a tally that ranks him in the top 10 in the Premier League in this regard and behind only 2 non-defenders. All the while, he has completed more passes in the attacking third of the pitch (198) than any other player and also scored 3 goals, which only Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge and Olivier Giroud can better (4 each).

Moreover, defenders aside, only 3 players have completed more passes in the defensive half of the pitch this season than Ramsey (146) and only 2 have won the ball more times in the defensive third (18) than him. He is getting all over the pitch, his work rate, helping hugely both on the attack and in defence.

His performance in the 3-1 win at Sunderland was his best of the season, in which he showcased better than in any other match the variety and extent of his talents. Afforded further freedom with Mathieu Flamini deployed behind him, Ramsey excelled. He broke forward to score 2 excellent goals whilst also making 7 tackles, a record that has only been bettered in a game 8 times this season, one of which was by Ramsey himself in the North London derby (8). His rating of 9.15 was the fourth best by any player in the Premier League this season and the second highest he has ever achieved (behind the perfect 10 he picked up in a 4-1 win at Portsmouth back in December 2009).

Over the summer months, a holding midfielder was highlighted as a priority for Arsene Wenger to import, and the signing of Flamini was met with some disdain given the relative low profile he assumes. But he does the simple things so well and that is exactly what they needed. Unspectacular, yet quietly brilliant, Flamini breaks up play consistently and screens a defence that isn't quite up to the standards of the team's attack and has been screaming out for such protection.

If you were to pick out one criticism of Ramsey, it may be that his work rate and resultant movement up the pitch sometimes leaves Flamini a little too exposed. It is telling that, despite their position at the summit of the Premier League, only 19th- and 20th-placed Crystal Palace and Sunderland have kept fewer clean sheets this season (0) than the Gunners (1). While 3 of their goals conceded have come from penalties, they are allowing their opponents into dangerous positions in the box rather too often, from which the likes of Laurent Koscielny are left too isolated and end up making risky last man tackles.

Of course, the attacking exploits at the Emirates have been so impressive this season that defensive frailties have mattered very little. They have recovered from the opening day defeat to Aston Villa to win 7 games in a row with Ramsey in the team. This weekend the Gunners face a tough trip Swansea, and on his return to Wales it could well be Arsenal's midfield dynamo that once again is the difference in maintaining their impressive form. He still has a lot to learn but this could well be Ramsey's season to impress. Worryingly for his opponents, however, is the fact that he is only going to get better.

How important do you think Aaron Ramsey is to Arsenal? Let us know in the comments below