Analysing Aaron Ramsey's Form for Arsenal This Season

After lighting the Premier League on fire last season, Aaron Ramsey has not quite been the same.

Two goals and one assist in six games is not too bad a haul for a midfielder, but Ramsey's problems cannot be pinned down to just a couple basic statistics.

His transformation from total pariah to midfield maestro was mostly the result of the simple change of simplifying his game.

He struggled mightily when he attempted to step into Cesc Fabregas' shoes by slicing defenses open and bearing the creative burden by himself. He constantly tried fancy flicks and tricks when simple passes would have done the job.

In the last season and a half, Ramsey finally realized that he needed to go back to basics and focus on doing the little things right. He transformed into a box-to-box midfielder who never stopped running, getting himself into good positions and finishing chances ruthlessly when he got the chance.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Ramsey was simply sensational for the first few months of last season and picked up right where he left off when he came back from a three-month injury sustained on Boxing Day. That he was voted Arsenal's player of the season by fans despite that layoff is remarkable.

But Ramsey seems to be off the pace a little bit this season. Injuries have slowed him down to some extent; a knock here and there, and before you know it he is out for three weeks.

Consequently, he has never really gotten a good run of games under his belt this season. But there are other problems with Ramsey's performances too.

For one, he does not seem to be enjoying playing in Arsenal's new 4-1-4-1 formation. Wenger's most recent innovation has been pilloried for its effects on Mesut Ozil (when he plays on the left wing), but it doesn't quite seem suited to Ramsey's style of play, either.

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

As aforesaid, the Welshman is a typical box-to-box midfielder. He works best when he is allowed to run the length of the pitch and get involved in all facets of play. His seemingly endlessly energetic legs give Arsenal an extra man in both attack and defense.

But in a 4-1-4-1, Ramsey is pushed further forward and forced to stay there. In a 4-3-3, he is given license to roam as the pivot between Mikel Arteta at the back of midfield and Ozil at the front.

More importantly, the Gunners' current setup clogs the opposition's penalty box with midfielders and forwards, making it very difficult to find open space.

We see it all too often: Someone brings the ball up from midfield at great difficulty, finds a cluster of players at the edge of the box that cannot get in behind the defense, and passes the ball to a wide player.

Ramsey, even more so than most other footballers, needs open space in order to be at his best.

He is not at his core a dribbler and certainly does not have a wealth of pace. But throw him into a counterattacking situation and watch him pick just the right pass before finding the perfect pocket in the box in which he can bamboozle the goalkeeper.

Ramsey has also been reverting back to his old ways in many respects, attempting to do too much too often. Perhaps he is attempting to compensate for the poor play of others around him or simply wants to take an inordinate amount of responsibility upon his shoulders.

Regardless, he needs to return to the basics, which helped him become one of the best in the game.

Ramsey should be back in training in a week or so, after which Arsenal have a fairly easy run of fixtures. Hopefully he can use this opportunity to get back to his best.

Follow @charliemelman