Comparing Aaron Ramsey's 2014/15 Stats to His 2013/14 Numbers

Last season, Aaron Ramsey was Arsenal’s outstanding player. His stunning form saw him eventually crowned as the club’s player of the season. It was just reward for a man whose goals from midfield had initially propelled the Gunners to the top of the Premier League, before returning from a major thigh injury to score the winning goal in the FA Cup final.

Although this season has felt incredibly stop-start, with a series of niggling injuries keeping Ramsey from holding down a consistent spot in the team, he has already made more Premier League appearances than he did in 2013/14. Last term he featured 23 times in the league, but he has already been called upon 25 times by Arsene Wenger this time around.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The most obvious difference has been in his goalscoring ratio. Ramsey finished last year’s league campaign with 10 goals to his name. This season, despite playing more frequently, he sits at almost half that tally. So far, he has racked up just six Premier League goals. 

It doesn’t appear to be connected to an unwillingness to get in to goalscoring positions. Ramsey’s relentless running often carries him beyond the centre-forward, and in his current role as the right-sided midfielder, he is actively encouraged to support and play off Olivier Giroud. 

However, his finishing has been significantly less convincing this time around. In 2013/14, he hit the target with a superb 71 percent of his shots. This time around he has tested the goalkeeper on just 37 percent of occasions.  

Aaron Ramsey shots 2014/15 | Squawka.com

That’s a huge drop-off. Of the Arsenal players who have forced a goalkeeper in to a save this season, only Mathieu Flamini, Per Mertesacker and Kieran Gibbs have done so at a lower success rate than Ramsey.

What explains his suddenly wayward shooting? Well, it could be connected to confidence. It’s common for players to go through goalscoring spurts where they’re convinced they’ll score. With that degree of conviction, finishing becomes a formality. As Ramsey’s hunt for goals went on, his confidence may have dwindled to the point where he is now snatching unnecessarily at the chances that do come his way. 

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

His shooting is not the only area where his powers appear to have diminished. Last season, Ramsey’s defensive contribution was often overlooked as his goals took the headlines. However, he was a true box-to-box player throughout 2013/14, offering cover for the defence as well as support for the attack.

That manifested itself in the statistics. For example, Ramsey won an impressive 52 percent of his tackles last season. The trauma of his leg-break was clearly behind him as he ploughed in to challenges without fear or hesitation. 

Aaron Ramsey duels 2014/15 | Squawka.com

However, this season he has been successful in just 30 percent of tackles. That’s another glaring disparity. Perhaps, once again, it’s connected with his confidence.

It’s clear that Aaron Ramsey is not delivering what he is capable of—at either end of the pitch. Technically, he remains sound—his pass completion has remained almost identical across the two years—but his contribution has dropped off at both ends of the pitch.

His form has begun to recover recently, but it’s still some way away from the heroics of 2013/14. Arsenal fans will hope a better level of fitness will help Ramsey return to his very best next season.

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.