Unai Emery pays heartfelt tribute to departing Arsenal star Ramsey

Oli Fisher

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has confirmed Aaron Ramsey has played his last game for the club, with captain Laurent Koscielny praising the departing midfielder’s commitment in recent months.

Ramsey will leave for Juventus in the summer, having agreed to join the Serie A giants on a free transfer when his Gunners contract expires.

The 28-year-old injured his hamstring during the second leg of Arsenal’s Europa League quarter-final victory over Napoli and, while Emery’s original estimate was that Ramsey could be back within two or three weeks, he will now miss the remainder of the season.

Emery’s side take on Valencia in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night, having lost all three games without Ramsey since he was forced off in Naples.

But, even if Arsenal reach the final in Baku on May 29, Emery conceded the game would come too quickly for Ramsey to be involved.

Asked if there was any chance of Ramsey playing in the final, Emery replied: “At the moment we are only in the semi-final, and secondly the prognosis is not okay for this date.

“He is important for us. We cannot use him and the danger is always there for a forward player like that.

“We have players who can play (in that position), but he was in a good moment when he had this injury.

“For me it was a good experience to work with every player and with him especially, because he can transmit his energy and he showed me his heart is red with Arsenal.

“I wanted to enjoy with him. I said to him one month ago that I wanted to do something important in his last matches with us at the moment – maybe he can come back in the future. It will not be with him on the pitch but he is still with us.”

 

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