Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger not ruling out keeping Aaron Ramsey next season even if star doesn't extend contract

On form | Ramsey has seven goals and eight assists in 22 games this season
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James Benge15 March 2018

Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out keeping Aaron Ramsey in the summer, even if the Arsenal midfielder does not sign a contract extension.

Ramsey’s current terms expire in less than 18 months' time, and his fine form this season means the Welsh international's future become perhaps the most pressing matter for the Arsenal hierarchy -along with that of Jack Wilshere.

Barcelona are among the clubs who have been most consistently linked with Ramsey, whose wage packet of over £100,000-a-week looks very different in light of Mesut Ozil’s £350,000-a-week extension signed last month.

Ozil’s future and that of Alexis Sanchez cast a shadow over Arsenal for much of the last year as the Gunners struggled to get either play to sign new terms, ultimately swapping the Chilean with Manchester United for Henrikh Mkhitaryan - a saga which Wenger conceded had a destabilising influence on his side.

When asked whether he would take a different approach with Ramsey and any other player whose contract expires in the summer of 2019, Wenger said: "No not at all.

"You want absolutely to find problems. I don’t know what you look for. We want the players to stay."

The Arsenal manager went on to claim that the values instilled in Arsenal will convince players to extend their deals.

"This club has been created by the people who work in the fabric," he said. "[It is] one of the few clubs in the world [like that].

"We want our players to be proud of the values that have been created by people that’s based on hard work, humility and a desire to be together.

"That’s the values we want the players to take charge of and to stay together and show these values. That’s what I want. That’s my dream.

"You talk always to me ‘he’ll go somewhere’. It’s for what?"

Wenger allowed for a pause before adding. "Money."

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Whether Ramsey is lured elsewhere is a matter for another day, with Wenger’s more recent focus having been on shepherding the midfielder back to match fitness following hamstring and groin injuries that limited him to just 531 minutes in all competitions since December 10.

Arsenal organised a one-off session to help Ramsey recover his fitness in time for the EFL Cup Final - a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City - since when Wenger has left the midfielder out of squads for games against Brighton and Watford, preserving his fitness for the Europa League.

As such, Wales’ participation in the China Cup - which will see Ramsey make the 11,000-mile journey to Nanning if included in Ryan Giggs’ first squad - has come at an inopportune moment for Arsenal.

As to whether Ramsey would join up with the Welsh squad, Wenger said: "I don’t know yet. We play tomorrow and after we’ll see.

"I don’t manage his fatigue level at the moment, I manage his history by being a bit cautious. From now on I will not do it anymore. He’s out of the problems he had."

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