Arsenal cannot allow Aaron Ramsey to leave, especially considering Unai Emery’s determination to keep him

Unai Emery’s English is not yet perfect, but when it comes to Aaron Ramsey’s future at the club, it does not matter. Arsenal’s new manager could not be more unequivocal that the Welshman is firmly in his plans.

“I want him to be with us,” Emery nodded under the bright lights of the Lansdowne Road media centre, after his players had fought back to beat Chelsea in yesterday’s International Champions Cup match in Dublin. “My opinion is he’s professional. He’s a player I want in this team.”

Emery’s stance on Ramsey has been consistent since he first agreed to become Arsène Wenger’s successor at the beginning of the summer. “I want to work with him,” he insisted just a few days after working with Ramsey in training for the first time. “His future is a question for the player and club. I said to Ivan, Raúl and Sven [Gazidis, Sanllehí and Mislintat, Arsenal’s transfer committee] he’s an important player for me.”

And yet with the start of the season now less than two weeks away, Ramsey’s future remains unresolved, with Emery as much in the dark as anyone. Arsenal entered this summer desperate to avoid the problems they suffered last season with Alexis Sánchez in the exact same position, but unless they act quickly, they are in danger of sleepwalking into the same old mistakes.

It would of course be a crying shame if Arsenal lost Ramsey on the cheap, but the saga is also unfortunate in that it diverts attention from the club’s otherwise superb summer. Results on the pitch have been good, while the first-team has been strengthened wisely, with a number of problem positions adequately reinforced at shrewd prices.

And no signing has been shrewder than the capture of Mattéo Guendouzi for a cut-price £7m, from French second-tier side FC Lorient. Unsurprisingly eyebrows were raised when he was brought to the club, but his performances during the pre-season would appear to suggest that he is not only one for the future, he is also a player that can be relied upon when called into the first-team, too.

Still just 19, Guendouzi’s bravery on the ball is what really marks him out. It took him less than 20 seconds to attempt a cross-field diagonal pass to Henrikh Mkhitaryan against Chelsea, while his ability to both glide past players with the ball and slot in between the two centre-halves when the full-backs are pushed high affords Arsenal a tactical flexibility they have been sorely missing.

When he arrived at the club and looked down the long list of transfer targets prepared by Sanllehí and Mislintat, it’s unlikely Guendouzi would have caught Emery’s eye. But it would be a surprise not to see the Frenchman in Arsenal’s squad for the opening day visit of Manchester City, and Emery has been full of praise for his contribution to Arsenal’s pre-season so far.

Crucially, he is a signing that has bolstered support in Arsenal’s restructured transfer committee, which only last year was being savaged for spending huge amounts of money on the likes of Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, seemingly with little plan in place. Instead, Arsenal’s new-look side already looks dynamic and with a genuine competition for places: the perfect blend of familiar old faces with exciting newcomers.

Which brings us back to Ramsey. Unlike when Arsenal lost Sánchez — and came so close to losing Mesut Özil — there is a confidence that the club could better handle the departure of Ramsey, whose influence over the last few seasons has been significant, but sporadic. Arsenal would rue his departure but they could cope with it. Emery would adjust.

But, really, what sort of message would that send out? That Arsenal remain a selling club, despite all these years of investment? Keeping hold of Ramsey would therefore be a statement of intent, not to mention a massive show of faith in Emery, who has very publicly set his stall out on this issue. Arsenal may be beginning to show they have rediscovered their touch when it comes to signing exciting young players, but they cannot let that momentum slide by allowing one of their finest to slip away on the cheap.