Arsène Wenger refused to call upon Aaron Ramsey in the closing stages of the season with ‘growing pains’ cited as the reason behind his omission from the squad. Yet with the campaign now over, Wales boss John Toshack does not have the luxury to leave out the 18-year-old – leading to his second consecutive start against Azerbaijan this afternoon.
Welsh pundits were lauding the midfielder after his display against Estonia, but with several players including Gareth Bale ruled out through injury, an even greater responsibility was put on the starlets young shoulders in the World Cup Qualifying Group 4 encounter.
Hennessey
Eardley – Williams – Morgan – Nyatanga – Gunter
Edwards – Ramsey – Ledley (c)
Chruch – Earnshaw
Starting as the central player in a 3 man midfield, BBC Wales were describing Aaron as The Dragons’ ‘star player’. It was clear that Azerbaijan thought the same as they crunched into the Arsenal man with just 55 seconds on the clock. It was a late and clearly intentional challenge but nothing was given.
The heavy winds in Baku were clearly effecting both sides passing, but through Ramsey Wales kept the ball well in the opening stages. However, it didn’t last for long, and as the hosts began to step things up, it was key the visitors defended well. The lively Fabio Ramin twice made dangerous runs towards the box but on both occasions Ramsey was on hand to tackle and clear the danger.
His defensive work was one of the notable plus points on the half hour mark, yet he soon showed his quality with a brilliant cross field pass which opened Azerbaijan up. Earnshaw won a corner from the pass, and Joe Ledley almost curled home from the resulting delivery. A tidy one-two between Aaron and Chris Gunter looked to open space down the left but another foul brought the move to a premature conclusion.
As half time approached ‘Rambo’ saw less and less of the ball, but Wales managed to find a break through. Dave Edwards turned home Earnshaw’s spilled cross and things were looking more than bright for Toshack’s side.
The second half was key for the young outfit. It was about keeping the ball well and not conceding. Aaron was particularly bright in the way he always tried to pick an ‘Arsenal style’ pass through the backline, that added to the aggression and tenacity he showed when trying to win back possession.
On 53 minutes Ramsey had the chance to test out his free-kick ability – which was not up to scratch. From 25 yards out he tried to curl an effort over the wall but got too under the ball and only succeeded in hitting the 3 man shield in front. It would be the final opportunity of the game that Wales would have to extend their lead.
Azerbaijan rallied shortly after and put all hands on deck to force an equaliser. Ramsey had to learn to protect his back four – a task he seemed uncertain of at first but quickly grew into the role. Wenger’s point about his midfielder being tired looked an accurate prediction as things drew to a close – Aaron looked worn out late on.
It finished 1-0 in a very windy Baku – giving Wales another three points in their bid to qualify for the World Cup. But more importantly and interestingly for Arsenal fans, Ramsey’s role as a midfield protector turned pass master looked promising.
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Article By – J.Sanderson
