Aaron Ramsey was an unnatural Arsenal fit – now he must find a club for his talents to flourish

Aaron Ramsey has been one of Arsenal’s greatest players in the Emirates era and yet his departure, either at the end of this season or even before, has felt inevitable for some time.

Ramsey’s contract talks have broken down and now Arsenal are considering selling him in January, their last chance to make any money on a player they bought from Cardiff City in 2008. But a new deal has long looked unlikely. Ramsey has long considered running his Arsenal contract down, as Arsenal have feared. The only possible solution would have been a huge pay rise of the sort that Arsenal, trying to cut their wage bill, would never have offered.

Arsenal will certainly have plenty of serious offers for an experienced midfielder at his physical peak. Barcelona, Juventus and Chelsea have a long-standing interest in Ramsey, while Liverpool and Manchester United will also be keen on a player available at a cut price. Given his reduced fee, those clubs would be able to offer Ramsey the salary that Arsenal will not.

Many at Arsenal would be sad to see Ramsey go. Not many players get to score a winning goal in an FA Cup final. Ramsey has done it twice, in 2014 and 2017, as well as winning the 2015 FA Cup too. He has made 336 Arsenal appearances, 240 in the Premier League. Of all the young British players that Arsene Wenger wanted to build his final sides around, Ramsey has done the best. He has outperformed and outlasted Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs. He is still the best performer of that generation of players, although you sense that Oxlade-Chamberlain has another level left to come.

But despite all of that, and despite Ramsey’s many achievements for Arsenal, there has been a lingering feeling for some time that Ramsey is at the wrong club. Because he is a midfielder of such unique talents: the engine to run all day, the late runs into the box, the technical skill and precise finishes. That much was clear with his stellar performances for Wales as they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Arsenal have only got flashes of Ramsey’s best form. His goalscoring glut during the 2013-14 season was the best run of form by an Arsenal midfielder this decade. That led to him signing a new deal that he is still in the final year of now. Had he not signed that contract, he would have left already.

But repeated muscle injuries meant that Ramsey struggled to build up a rhythm. And the presence of Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla meant that Ramsey could not play enough games in his favoured role. Too often he was too deep in a 4-2-3-1, or stuck out on the right. Even now under Unai Emery he almost looks too far forward, too close to goal to make those late runs where he can do the most damage. It has never looked this season as if he is one of the players Emery plans to build around.

Ramsey has often looked as if he would do better under a more aggressive, organised system, one that made the most of his running power, in defence and attack. Like at Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, or Pep Guardiola’s City, or Chelsea under their current or former manager, or Jose Mourinho’s United or even – and this would never happen – at Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs. As if Arsenal’s relaxed, expressive style of play was almost the worst place for him and his talents.

Some players stay at the wrong club for too long but Ramsey is still 27 years old. He has a full decade of Premier League experience behind him, he knows his game better than ever and still has the hunger to go and do more. Perhaps the only surprise about his forthcoming departure is that it has taken this long.