Aaron Ramsey insists he is ready to face Tottenham this Sunday despite playing just 88 minutes of first-team football since his return from injury.
The midfielder made his first start in more than 11 weeks last night against Ludogorets in the Champions League where the Gunners ran out of Bulgaria 3-2 winners and qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition for the 17th consecutive season.
Arsene Wenger deployed Ramsey on the right wing – away from his preferred central midfield role – and provided an assist for Olivier Giroud’s equalising goal. But the Welshman grew tired as the game wore on and was replaced in the 75th minute for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Both Theo Walcott (hamstring) and Santi Cazorla (Achilles) didn’t make the trip to Bulgaria ahead of the North London derby this Sunday at the Emirates.
But Ramsey cannot wait for the game against Spurs, and insists he is more than ready to be in the starting line-up this Sunday:
‘I’m ready to face Tottenham. I wouldn’t have been out there starting last night if I wasn’t ready. It was great for me.
‘I’ve been out injured for a couple of months now and it was nice to be back starting again and getting 70-odd minutes. That will put me in good shape going into the weekend and hopefully I can stay fit.’
Well we at Gunnersphere asked fellow Arsenal fans on Twitter whether Ramsey should start against Spurs this Sunday and this was the outcome of that poll: 21% said yes, he should start, while a massive 79% believe the Wales midfielder is not ready – this from a total of 42 votes.
If he truly believes he is ready to start against Spurs, then Wenger must consider him. However, I would personally prefer him to come off from the bench as Spurs is a much bigger test than Ludogorets.
It’s Wenger’s choice. Hopefully, the Frenchman makes the right one for the team rather than the individual.
