Breaking Down Aaron Ramsey's Performance in Arsenal's Game vs. Hull City
Technically, Aaron Ramsey was playing out of position in Arsenal’s Premier League win over Hull City. It didn’t show, as the Wales international scored a goal to cap an excellent 67-minute display.
Since coming back in to the team, Ramsey has been forced to play wide on the right-hand side of Arsenal’s midfield. The unusual deployment is necessitated by the form of Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil in the middle of the park. Arsene Wenger seems to view that pair as the creative hub of the team, and everyone else has to be accommodated around them.
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Playing wide is not entirely unfamiliar to Ramsey, but it’s something he hasn’t enjoyed in the past. His best performances have almost all come as a central midfielder, and it was playing in that role that earned him the title of Arsenal’s Player of the Year last season.
His natural inclination is to drive infield and that can occasionally prove problematic. When Arsenal came up against Reading’s packed defence in the FA Cup semi-final, they looked too narrow on that right flank. Mathieu Debuchy was playing behind Ramsey at full-back, and having just returned from injury, he seemed to lack the stamina required to provide an overlap.
Against Hull, there were no such problems. The presence of Hector Bellerin at right-back meant Arsenal always had someone willing to occupy the touchline on that side. As a consequence, Ramsey flourished.
His heat map shows how often he drifted infield to pick up possession in the centre:
However, a look at Bellerin’s areas of involvement demonstrate the way he utilises the space Ramsey avoids:
The advantage of having Ramsey shift in to the centre is that he is able to capitalise on his movement and anticipation to offer a persistent goal threat. On three occasions, he burst in to the penalty area to get off a shot at goal.
In the first half, he was picked out by Santi Cazorla before executing a wonderful turn and firing a deflected shot beyond Steve Harper. Ramsey has now scored four times in his last eight appearances. The goalscoring knack that accompanied his outstanding form of last year is beginning to return. In the second half, he almost added another but a toe-poked effort from just inside the box rolled agonisingly wide.
There was more to Ramsey’s game than the goal. He also showed real consistency in his passing, finding the target on 89 percent of occasions—higher than his season average of 85 percent.
Ramsey might be more comfortable in the middle but it’s clear he’s capable of doing a very effective job for Arsenal out wide.
In some respects, his performances there are reminiscent of Freddie Ljungberg’s. Ljungberg regarded himself as a central player, but Arsene Wenger recognised that by playing him wide the Swede could use his brilliant movement to evade markers in the centre. The result was an excellent partnership between Dennis Bergkamp, the arch-creator, and Ljungberg the predator.
Ramsey has the potential to do a similar job for Arsenal, with Mesut Ozil and Cazorla the possible successors to Bergkamp’s visionary role. Ramsey on the right is something we may be seeing more of in future.
All stats via Squawka
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.
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