Craig Bellamy believes fellow countryman Aaron Ramsey has already decided his future lies away from Arsenal and a “top-end” club will sign him on a free.
Ramsey finished off a fine, flowing move when scoring Arsenal’s third in a 5-1 win at Fulham, registering an early contender for team goal of the season.
However, talks between Ramsey and Arsenal over a new deal have broken down, with the Gunners potentially losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Bellamy played with Ramsey during the latter stages of his career, including for Team GB at London 2012, and thinks the Arsenal midfielder wants a new challenge.
“I think they’ve lost him already – I think he’s gone,” he told The Debate.
“Come January or the summer, he’ll be going somewhere else. Four or five years ago, every club wanted him – Manchester City, Barcelona. I think it’s time for him to move on. He’s become conscious of some players that have stayed too long at Arsenal and not got the best out of their ability. He’s a tremendous footballer that has had injuries.
“Unai Emery will be a good manager for him but he needs a change. He’ll have a better chance of going to those top-end clubs if he’s on a free transfer.”
Arsenal find themselves involved in another saga surrounding player contracts, following on from Alexis Sanchez, who eventually moved to Manchester United, and Mesut Ozil.
Paul Merson feels Arsenal need to reevaluate the strategy about how they handle contracts.
“Arsenal have got to ask themselves some serious questions,” Merson said.
“It’s a great club, but whoever is letting people’s contracts run down is an absolute joke.
“You have to sign him. He brings goals to the midfield – he takes the pressure off the strikers. It’s Arsenal’s fault, they’ve allowed this to happen. In January, he’ll have clubs queuing up to sign him.”
