The war of words between Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Wales manager Chris Coleman over Aaron Ramsey received a new instalment yesterday.
The dispute first started in November 2015, when Wenger suggested the Welsh international had picked up a hamstring injury because he was unnecessarily called up by his national side to face Andorra.
As quoted by Sky Sports, he said; “Maybe he was overloaded a little bit with games. Ideally, I think not him nor [Gareth] Bale should have played against Andorra, because they were qualified, but unfortunately I could not decide that.
“Ideally he should have had a breather, or at Watford. Realistically, the real breather he could have had was against Andorra.”
Coleman later described Wenger’s comments as a ‘cheap shot’, telling reporters; “If Wenger had a problem with me or my selection, call me up and I’ll gladly drive to Arsenal’s training ground.
“Our job as managers is hard enough without us having a chip at each other, especially a cheap shot which is exactly what his comments were.”
After playing a pivotal role in Wales’ unexpected march to the Euro 2016 semi-finals earlier this summer, Wenger selected Ramsey for Arsenal’s first Premier League fixture of the new season – a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates.
But the 25-year-old lasted just an hour before pulling up with a hamstring injury that has ruled him out of action until after the coming international break. The Dragons face Moldova on September 5th in the opening fixture of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and the former Cardiff City starlet was not included in Coleman’s latest squad.
And the 46-year-old appears somewhat bemused as to why Ramsey started Arsenal’s first league game. Others involved in the latter stages of Euro 2016 – such as defender Laurent Koscielny – were rested for the Liverpool clash.
As quoted by BBC Sport, he said; “It’s disappointing he’s got an injury. Could it have been prevented? Possibly, yes.
“I think we all expected him to [miss the start of the season]. So I don’t know what happened between then and when he ended up on the pitch.
“Obviously only Arsenal can answer that. I think, to a man, if you were looking at [Arsenal’s team-sheet], it was a bit of a surprise he started.”
Here’s a look at Ramsey’s highlights from the European Championship in France.
