Why Aaron Ramsey Is the One Arsenal Player Chelsea Would Love to Sign
In his press briefing ahead of Chelsea's clash with Arsenal this weekend, Jose Mourinho was asked if he had been interested in signing Danny Welbeck before he joined Arsenal on transfer deadline day.
"He plays for Arsenal. I cannot make this analysis for a player who plays against Chelsea," was Mourinho's response, refusing to take the bait.
It was a crafty question. Had Mourinho said yes the headlines would have been of the Chelsea boss preferring Welbeck to the other strikers at his disposal outside of Diego Costa.
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A simple no—intimating Welbeck isn't good enough for Chelsea or Mourinho—would have fueled the flames ahead of kick-off, perhaps inspiring the Arsenal striker even more after his midweek hat-trick in the Champions League.
Cesc Fabregas was inevitably a big topic, also, one journalist inquiring as to whether Mourinho had admired him from afar in his first stint at Chelsea and subsequently Real Madrid when Fabregas had lined up against him for Arsenal and Barcelona.
"He was a good player," he said. "I never thought about managing him. At Chelsea he was at Arsenal, a rival. I was at Real, he was at Barcelona, a rival, so it never looked possible that he would become my player.
"I never thought about it."
The subject of the questions, however, should have been Aaron Ramsey and whether or not Mourinho would ever consider an attempt at signing him.
The Welshman will miss Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge while he recovers from a hamstring injury and without him, there is a considerable void in the Arsenal midfield.
Indeed, Ramsey was looking as impressive as he was in the first half of 2013/14 when he was being discussed as a potential Footballer of the Year, before injury struck.
And it was injury that eventually ended that conversation last year when, without him, Arsenal's title hopes took a considerable knock.
In the past 12 months, Ramsey has become a key figure to Arsene Wenger, so it's understandable he will be ruing his absence at Stamford Bridge.
Ramsey brings goals to this Arsenal team—picking up assists while arriving at the right moment to finish off attacking moves himself.
When a midfielder demonstrates those qualities in the modern era, Frank Lampard's name immediately springs to mind.
Ramsey is a little different to the ex-Chelsea great, though. He scores goals, yes, but he's more of a Willian-Oscar hybrid, working tirelessly, adding creative spark and doing his bit at both ends for Arsenal.
In fact, mentioning Oscar raises an interesting perspective as Ramsey has all the qualities to fill the Brazilian's role at Chelsea, only to do it better.
Since the arrival of Fabregas from Barcelona, we've seen the Spaniard and Oscar rotating their positions in midfield.
Fabregas has started the majority of games in the pivot, but it hasn't limited his attacking instincts. If anything, with Oscar around, it's allowed him to realise them a bit more.
When Fabregas plays on the front foot, it's often Oscar who will drop slightly deeper to fill his teammate's position. It isn't a permanent arrangement, more something dictated by the flow of the game, yet it's been effective.
It means Fabregas is more difficult to pick up and keeps Chelsea fluid, moving the ball more efficiently to break teams down in a way they struggled to last season.
Playing Ramsey over Oscar in that role would be suitable. It would make Chelsea more potent and with it, a stronger outfit.
Ramsey comes with a level of consistency we haven't seen yet from Oscar in his Chelsea career.
The talent is there, although he has an ability to go missing at times. Take last season, for instance.
After a brilliant start to the campaign, by Christmas, Oscar looked a spent force and as the season reached its climax, he was seen less and less at Stamford Bridge.
Even this term he has looked phenomenal one moment, only to disappoint the next.
Ramsey's had his injury problems, but outside of them, he has emerged into one of the leaders in Wenger's team.
The Welshman is a match winner, something he has shown in abundance at the Emirates Stadium and with a bit more grit than is commonly associated with Arsenal players, he has the ability to grab games by the scruff of the neck and dig in.
At 23, he's still learning his trade, yet his emergence as a leading figure in the Arsenal dressing room cannot go unnoticed.
He scores goals, creates them, prevents them; Ramsey inspires his teammates, doesn't shy away from responsibility and is a leader.
Ramsey is becoming the complete player, a Mourinho player almost.
Add him to a formidable-looking Chelsea and we may well see a complete team.
*All quotes taken firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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