LONDON, United Kingdom, Apr 24 – Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has admitted that the players have let embattled manager Arsene Wenger down at times this campaign.
Wenger has come under massive pressure this season as the Gunners have continued their slide down the Premier League standings, where they currently occupy seventh position.
However, Arsenal enjoyed a positive result in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, beating Manchester City 2-1, and Ramsey is determined to salvage something from the season by winning silverware.
“We’ve let him down at times this season,” Ramsey said, according to BBC.
“But he’s kept believing in us and the quality we have and we wanted to get to the final and now hopefully we can go on and win it for him and for ourselves.
“I absolutely love this competition we’ve been quite successful in recent years and you can see the passion that the players play with.”
-Okocha on Iwobi-
Meanwhile, former Super Eagles captain Jay-Jay Okocha says Alex Iwobi should fight for his place in the Arsenal first team rather than seek a loan move.
After battling for game-time in Wenger’s team, Iwobi was demoted to the Gunners U23 side for a match against Reading two weeks ago.
But former Bolton Wanderers and Nigerian international midfielder Okocha, who is Iwobi’s uncle and advisor, says that the 20-year-old Super Eagles midfielder has done well in his first season in the Premier League and that the north London club is the best place for him to be.
“We can’t forget that this is his first full season in the first team and Arsenal has all their players back now. There’s a lot of competition, so it’s not easy,” he told Sky Sports.
“He has had a good season. It’s not easy to make it through from the academy into the first team at such a big club. He has achieved this and has been phenomenal; I am delighted with what he has achieved so far.
“I think it’s better for him to stay at Arsenal, because the style of play suits him perfectly. It might not be easy for him to go on loan and adapt somewhere else. He needs to stay and fight for his shirt.”
Iwobi was in the Arsenal squad as an unused substitute in their 2-1 FA Cup win over Manchester City on Sunday.