Aaron Ramsey: “I thought we had a deal”

This has been a very strange saga, for sure. Aaron Ramsey is a great player, has been around Arsenal for more than a decade, and it looked like all signs were pointing to him getting an extension. And now, it looks like he’s leaving, as early as January, because...reasons.

We had heard previous reports that Arsenal had pulled a contract offer off the table, but today we heard from the player that it was actually a bit more than that. According to Aaron:

“Everything has been going great with the club – we thought we were in a position where we had agreed a deal but that’s no longer the case.”

So, there we go. They had a signable deal in place (not just an initial lowball offer to the player, but one that was ready to be accepted!), and then before Ramsey could sign it, Arsenal withdrew it. So at this point, Ramsey is as good as gone, and the only question now is does the club sell him for value in January, or let him walk for nothing in the summer?

This whole thing is interesting. It would seem to indicate that Ramsey was a “Gazidis guy”, since the offer went away at about the same time that Gazidis did, but nobody at the club, including Ramsey, is saying anything more specific than “there was an offer and now there isn’t”. So is it just a case that the new regime doesn’t think Ramsey fits in with Unai Emery’s setup and plans, or is there more to it? We may never know, and all we’re left with is wondering whether Aaron goes in January or July now.