Aaron Ramsey Shows Signs of Being Back to His Best Against Galatasaray

Aaron Ramsey only played for 45 minutes against Galatasaray, but his performance was enough to generate a buzz of excitement among Arsenal fans. In the stands of Istanbul and across social media, the message was the same: “He’s back.”

For much of this campaign, Ramsey has looked like a player in regression. Last season, Ramsey was Arsenal’s undisputed Player of the Season. However, he has struggled to recapture that form in 2014/15.

At times, he’s resembled the midfielder who felt his way back to form after that horrific broken leg; he’s been both indecisive and wasteful in possession and neglectful of his defensive duties.

However, the indications are that his confidence is returning.

The upward trajectory in his form began a few weeks ago, with Ramsey eschewing his goalscoring drive to play a simpler role, starting from deeper in the Arsenal midfield. From that solid base, embellishments are beginning to blossom.

Against Stoke, Ramsey ended a 16-game wait for a goal. That strike—a thumping volley from a corner—seems to have revitalised Ramsey’s belief in front of goal.

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He scored twice against Galatasaray. The first was a tidy finish off his left foot. Perhaps encouraged by that moment, his second was quite audacious.

Ramsey used his weaker boot to strike a bouncing ball from 35 yards into the far-top corner. Even his team-mates shook their heads in disbelief, and many of the Galatasaray fans joined the travelling Arsenal faithful in their applause.

This performance was about more than goals, though. He got stuck in, too. With Ramsey playing like this, Arsenal’s need for a defensive midfielder does not seem quite so pronounced. He was everywhere, tearing through the Galatasaray midfield at will. In tandem with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal’s midfield engine room simply had too much power for their Turkish opposition to handle.

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At half-time, Ramsey was withdrawn. The Arsenal staff cited a tight thigh muscle, but the reality is surely that the change was a mere precaution. Ramsey was in such remarkable form that Arsene Wenger could not risk losing him for the weekend’s clash with Newcastle. 

Another man who might hope for a start against Alan Pardew’s side is Lukas Podolski. The German international grabbed Arsenal’s other two goals in a typically clinical display. However, while this was a timely reminder of Podolski’s abilities, it didn’t necessarily tell us anything new —we’ve always know he’s a great finisher. It’s the other elements of his game where Wenger will harbour concerns.

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Time will tell if this performance from Podolski was a step back towards the first-team or merely an attractive audition for his next club.

Despite the German's contribution, this remained Ramsey's night. In a game intended for the fringe players to shine, it was a regular first-team player who made the biggest impact. With Ramsey in this form, Arsenal stand a far greater chance of getting their season back on track.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.