Gooner Daily

September was certainly a month to remember for everyone connected with Arsenal, as the Gunners were in inspired form, winning every game they played in the month in all competitions. The Gunners notched up six victories in the month, raking four wins in the Premier League, as well as a win apiece in the Champions League encounter against Marseille and the Capital One Cup clash with West Brom.

One of the players that was integral to this amazing run of form was Aaron Ramsey, as he scored an amazing five goals in five games with four registered in the Premier League and the match winner against Olympique Marseille in the Champions League. After a series of nominations I created in the blog, my readers rightly voted for Ramsey in the Player of the Month category, as he amassed a landslide win with 96.85% of the votes while Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud shared the rest.

With some assistance from one of the most respected statistical sites on the internet, WhoScored, sit back and enjoy, as I review Aaron Ramsey’s performances in the month of September.

Arsenal 1 Tottenham 0 (September 1, 2013)

The North London Derby was hugely significant for more reasons than one as for the first time in a long while, many expected Tottenham to be triumphant due to the mere fact that they had outspent the illustrious neighbors, Arsenal, buying a series of players that propelled them to the top with the leading pack.

Ramsey began the game in the holding role alongside Jack Wilshere and he was influential in the game as he played a part in Olivier Giroud’s goal. It was Ramsey that instigated the attack by feeding Tomas Rosicky, who in turn teed up a nice pass to Theo Walcott and the Englishman wasted no time in threading a ball for Giroud that was finished with a deft touch.

Listed below are Ramsey’s key stats in the victory over Tottenham;

Passing Accuracy	78%
Aerial Duels Won	50%
Touches on the Ball	83
Fouls Committed	2
Total Shots Fired (Goals Scored)	3 (0)
Dribbles Attempted	2
Tackles Made	8
WhoScored Rating	8.3

According to WhoScored, Giroud was the game’s top performer with a rating of 8.9, with Ramsey coming up in second place at 8.3.

Sunderland 1 Arsenal 3 (September 14, 2013)

This game will be fondly remembered for Mesut Ozil’s long-awaited debut, but Aaron Ramsey was a class act in the game, scoring two well-taken goals that added more pressure to Paolo di Canio before he was eventually sacked following the 3-0 loss to West Brom.

Arsenal got ahead when it took Ozil just 11 minutes to create his first assist of the season for Olivier Giroud but the home side equalized through a Craig Gardner penalty. Up stepped Ramsey with a technically-proficient first-timed volley from a Carl Jenkinson cross and he scored the game clincher when he latched on to Giroud’s inch-perfect pass to put the game beyond doubt.

Listed below are Ramsey’s key stats in the victory over Sunderland;

Passing Accuracy	92%
Aerial Duels Won	–
Touches on the Ball	111
Fouls Committed	2
Total Shots Fired (Goals Scored)	3 (2)
Dribbles Attempted	1
Tackles Made	7
WhoScored Rating	9.2

According to WhoScored, Giroud was the game’s top performer with a rating of 9.3 for his goal and assist, while Ramsey was in second place with a rating of 9.2 for his two well-taken goals.

Marseille 1 Arsenal 2 (September 18, 2013)

With Arsenal coming up against a side that was a formidable force in their home ground, Stade Velodrome, it was bound to be a nervy affair but the Gunners prevailed in their first Champions League game with Ramsey hitting the back pages again for another match winner after his exploits against Sunderland.

The Gunners grabbed the lead when Theo Walcott blasted in a lovely volley and late on, Ramsey was free at the edge of the box and fired a shot that was deflected by Nicolas N’ Koulou. Ramsey also played a role in Marseille’s goal right at the death, as he caused a penalty that almost put Arsenal in a precarious situation but the Gunners held out to grab three vital points.

Listed below are Ramsey’s key stats in the narrow win over Olympique Marseille;

Passing Accuracy	83%
Aerial Duels Won	50%
Touches on the Ball	109
Fouls Committed	3
Total Shots Fired (Goals Scored)	2 (1)
Dribbles Attempted	0
Tackles Made	5
WhoScored Rating	7.7

According to WhoScored, Wojciech Szczesny was the game’s top performer with a rating of 7.9 following his plethora of magnificent saves, while Ramsey was in second place with a rating of 7.7 for his overall game play and match winner.

Arsenal 3 Stoke 1 (September 22, 2013)

Arsenal’s newbie, Mesut Ozil, put up a masterpiece as he created all three assists that put Stoke City to the sword, as the Gunners tore a script from the Tony Pulis manual to scored all their goals through set pieces.

Aaron Ramsey scored the match opener after Asmir Begovic parried Mesut Ozil’s free kick to his path but Stoke canceled the lead with a neatly-taken goal from Cameron. The Gunners went ahead through a Per Mertesacker header and a Bacary Sagna looping header was enough to put the game beyond doubt.

Listed below are Ramsey’s key stats in the comfortable win over Stoke City;

Passing Accuracy	94%
Aerial Duels Won	100%
Touches on the Ball	91
Fouls Committed	–
Total Shots Fired (Goals Scored)	3 (1)
Dribbles Attempted	2
Tackles Made	5
WhoScored Rating	8.3

According to WhoScored, Ozil was undoubtedly Arsenal’s best performer with a rating of 8.9 following his hat-trick of assists but Ramsey came in second place with a rating of 8.3.

Swansea 1 Arsenal 2 (September 28, 2013)

Arsenal showed their dominance over Swansea with a splendid second half blitz, and Michael Laudrup’s side offered a scare late on but the Gunners held on to stay at the top of the Premier League.

Youngster Serge Gnabry grabbed the headlines with a lovely goal from a Ramsey assist and the Welshman connected with Giroud’s pass to slam the ball into Michel Vorm’s net but Ben Davies nicked in a late goal and there was drama at the death but Arsenal prevailed.

Listed below are Ramsey’s key stats in the narrow win over Swansea;

Passing Accuracy	80%
Aerial Duels Won	100%
Touches on the Ball	88
Fouls Committed	3
Total Shots Fired (Goals Scored)	2 (1)
Dribbles Attempted	1
Tackles Made	7
WhoScored Rating	9.4

According to WhoScored, Ramsey’s goal and assist made him the game’s top performer.

These stats reveal why Ramsey deserved to be the Player of the Month for September in the Premier League, as he had an average rating of 8.825, which is truly magnificent if you ask me.The arrival of Mikel Arteta in midfield has seen his performances dip somewhat as he has been sent to the right flank, a position where he wouldn’t have much influence on the game.

However, winning the September Player of the Month award is a magnificent achievement to Ramsey and some due credit must also go to the September Manager of the Month, Arsene Wenger, for the role he played in Ramsey’s progress as well. If he bought the marquee signing in the holding midfield, who knows if Ramsey’s progress would have been as significant .

Those defensive midfielders aren’t even better off than Mathieu Flamini, as this statistical article shows.

Sayonara.

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