Team of the Season – Aaron Ramsey

As the 2013/14 campaign got underway, Aaron Ramsey was far from Fantasy radars. Despite being kindly priced across the Fantasy games – opening with a starting cost of 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) – the Welshman had done little to justify our investment, with just seven goals to his name in the previous five seasons:

The Statistics

Three matches into the new campaign and Ramsey, with a single assist accrued, had made a minimal impact. A security of starts earned him a 0.1 price rise but the arrival of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid had Fantasy managers looking to the German, as well as Theo Walcott, as the likeliest source of points within the Arsenal midfield.

Instead, it was Ramsey who flourished as the Gunners’ main man. Bagging a brace and maximum bonus on Ozil’s debut in a 3-1 win at Sunderland in Gameweek 4, he served up a 15-point return which immediately saw his price rise to 5.9. With Walcott sidelined through injury, the Welshman quickly became the obvious replacement for Fantasy managers looking for a route into Arsene Wenger’s midfield, with five set of double figures in 10 appearances from that Black Cats match onwards.

By the time he was forced off with a thigh injury in Gameweek 18, Ramsey had risen to 7.6 in price, producing eight goals, six assists and 15 bonus points. Unfortunately for Wenger and Fantasy managers alike, a couple of injury setbacks meant that Ramsey was sidelined until Gameweek 33 but he quickly hit his stride upon returning. A sub appearance at West Ham harvested an assist before Ramsey delivered double figure hauls in two of his final three starts, as he ended the season on 146 points from just 23 appearances in a real breakout Fantasy campaign.

The Prospects

Price is the main issue for Ramsey. There’s no question he’s set for a significant rise across the Fantasy games, though it remains to be seen just how much his cost will escalate – given that his average of 6.3 points per game was second only to Yaya Toure amongst midfielders in FPL, though, a move into the premium bracket wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Certainly, if he continues in the same vein, plenty of Fantasy managers will look to acquire Ramsey over the likes of Ozil and Santi Cazorla, though for many, a fit-again Walcott remains the key target amongst Wenger’s premium priced midfielders. Whilst his well-timed runs from deep will surely come to fruition once again, Ramsey doesn’t have penalties, set-pieces or corners to fall back on – factors that perhaps mattered less at last season’s price but ones which may make the difference if he’s catapulted into the 9.0+ bracket. On the other hand, you could argue that whilst the likes of Toure and Steven Gerrard relied heavily on penalties or dead-ball situations to boost their points in 2013/14, the Arsenal man’s ability to deliver from open play is another factor in his favour.

Taking both his previous lack of goals and those months on the sidelines through injury into consideration, there’s still a hope Ramsey will be shifted into the upper mid-price bracket – increasing his price by up to 4.0 would be a big step, bearing in mind he did only manage to start 20 league games in 2013/14. The downside of this scenario is that, with a favourable cost, it’s hard to see any Fantasy managers overlooking the Welshman – essentially, almost every active team would have him on board.

If he can steer clear of injuries, Ramsey could be Fantasy gold next season if he can maintain the momentum that saw his start and finish the season so strongly. At a time when many of the big-hitters are over in Brazil for next month’s World Cup, Wales’ unsuccessful qualifying campaign will allow him the time to rest and recuperate and approach the upcoming campaign in peak condition – an ideal scenario for those eyeing up his acquisition in 2014/15.