Month: June 2016

Arsenal have failed to capitalise on great opportunity to win the Premier League after a huge drought, according to midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

The club has not been the league champions since the 2003-04 season. It was also the last and only time a club has gone through an entire league campaign without suffering a defeat. Arsene Wenger has been consistently criticised over the years for his failure to lead the club to title success and those criticisms have continued even into the 2015-16 season. Arsenal were in a very strong position going into the Christmas period.

Arsenal have failed to capitalise on great opportunity to win the Premier League after a huge drought, according to midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

The club has not been the league champions since the 2003-04 season. It was also the last and only time a club has gone through an entire league campaign without suffering a defeat. Arsene Wenger has been consistently criticised over the years for his failure to lead the club to title success and those criticisms have continued even into the 2015-16 season. Arsenal were in a very strong position going into the Christmas period.

However, their form nosedived at the start of 2016 and the club never really recovered from the setback. Leicester City have managed to win the title by a 10 point margin. Arsenal, though, will have to consult themselves with a second-place finish, which is one of the best records in recent seasons. As a result of Tottenham losing 5-1 to Newcastle United on the final day, Arsenal were able to leapfrog their arch rivals courtesy of their win against relegated Aston Villa. Ramsey may have failed to hit the goal scoring heights of a few years ago, but his importance to the team cannot be underestimated. As one of the leaders, the Welshman claims that the 2015-16 season offered a great chance for Arsenal to end the title drought.

“That’s why is has been so frustrating this season [other big teams slipping up], it feels like a missed opportunity, but we are where we are, and we have to accept that.Full credit to Leicester for finishing the job off, but I’m sure we’ll be back stronger for next season. It will be an interesting season next year and hopefully we can come out on top.We slipped up a few times in some crucial moments throughout the season, and that’s what we’ve got to improve on for next year,” said Ramsey.

Welsh players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale were pictured as they met with a group of local children at their base in Dinard. The team which is set to take on group opponents Russia this week trained together on Wednesday before taking turns to sign autographs and taking pictures at the end of the training session.

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey were the stars in demand given their status in the league. Also being the premier men in Coleman’s squad, they were overwhelmed with requests for their autographs and pictures. It was a joyful day for the entire team as Joe Ledley and Hal Robson-Kanu joined after their recent fitness concerns.

Ledley who plies his trade with English Premier League club Crystal Palace, has been a doubt for the Welsh team since breaking his leg five weeks ago. At training, he looked set to beat the fitness worries and rejoin the team, even if it’s a start on the bench. Tireless forward Robson-Kanu is also set to play in Bordeaux.

The team has performed below par at friendly games, losing recently to Sweden 3-0. The team has insisted that they have shaken off the loss and that they have no intention of bowing out early in the tournament. Bale told Uefa.com that the team plans on winning every game but will give their best as that’s all they could do.

After playing Slovakia, Wales took on bitter rivals England in one of the most eagerly anticipated game of the group stage before taking on Russia in the final round of games at the group stage. England are the favourites to top the group, leaving the race for second spot between Wales and Russia but Russia are tipped to pick the spot.

Aaron Ramsey says he wants Wales to kickstart their tournament when they play their final group game. Ramsey told KickOff.com that it was very important that they gain momentum from the get go to help them ease into the tournament.

He said: “We are really excited. We haven’t been there before – it’s a first time for all of us – but we’re really looking forward to it. It’s going to be an amazing occasion for us, our families, the staff, and our fans. We’re going to really enjoy it, but also take it seriously and try and get out the group. Who knows what could happen after that?”

Since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Wales have not featured in a major tournament. In 1958, they played and got to the quarterfinals stage where they lost out to the eventual champions Brazil but there are concerns that they might not even make it past the group stage this time.

The 25-year old Ramsey admitted that the players though apprehensive about their fate, are itching to play against Russia and finally prove themselves. He said their final match against Russia was important and they hope to win it.

Ramsey who scored 5 goals in 31 games in the last campaign will be hoping to support Gareth Bale who seems to still have fitness concerns.