Chris Coleman has hit out at Arsene Wenger for selecting Aaron Ramsey against Liverpool which saw the midfielder pick up an injury that has ruled him out for Wales’ upcoming international game (and, you know, some games for the club that actually pays his wages).
This isn’t the first time that Coleman and Wenger have had a difference of opinion regarding Ramsey, however. In October last year, it was Coleman who put Ramsey’s fitness at risk when he played him for a meaningless game against Andorra when they had already qualified.
Speaking to the media, Coleman said of the club who, as I mentioned, pay Ramsey’s wages and have the right to play him when they want, “I think we all expected Aaron to (miss the start of the season), so I don’t know what happened between then and when he ended up on the pitch.
“Obviously only Arsenal can answer that.
“I think, to a man, if you were looking at that (team-sheet), it was a bit of a surprise he started.
“I think Aaron said himself (in France) that he wasn’t expecting to.
“If you look at his physical stats, they are higher than anybody on the pitch in terms of his high-intensity sprints and the kilometres he covers.
“But he’s still a human being, and it’s not like we were knocked out in the group stage.
“It was a long tournament for Aaron, after a long, hard season. So I don’t know why he was treated differently.”
Contrast this with October’s comments from Coleman, when Wenger said “Ideally him [Ramsey], nor Gareth Bale should have played against Andorra because Wales were qualified, but unfortunately I could not decide that.”
Coleman responded, “We’re disappointed by those comments but the facts are there for all to see.
“Aaron was fit when he played for us and when he left the camp. He even played a full 90 minutes the following weekend for Arsenal at Watford. So Arsene’s comments don’t add up.”
This all happened after Ramsey did his hamstring against Bayern Munich ruling him out for another month.
It seems that Coleman thinks he is the only one who can determine when Ramsey should and shouldn’t play despite, as I might have mentioned, it being Arsenal who pay his wages and the ones who suffer the most when he’s sidelined.
Yes, it is odd that Ramsey played, but he wasn’t the only one from the Euros to start for his club on the opening weekend. I’m sure Arsenal and the player were confident that it wouldn’t be a problem and, as we know with Aaron, his hamstrings can go at any point – not just after an international tournament.