Aaron Ramsey managed to score his second goal of the season against Lincoln.

The midfielder, who was sidelined for weeks with a calf strain, hadn’t found the back of the net since Arsenal played away to Preston in the FA Cup. Lack of confidence in front of goal and a general lack of fitness combined with the whole level of the team being especially low led to a string of underwhelming performances from the Welshman. However, he appears to be getting there.

Ramsey had an early chance in the first half – one of few from the Arsenal team – and had a pass completion rate of 94%. Considering his average is around the 90% mark, this is good going despite Arsenal looking very poor early on.

Towards the end of the first half, the 26-year-old had a ridiculous shot which flew straight into row Z but, if anything, this just showed he was getting into the right areas and hasn’t had much experience in front of goal lately. Plus, he’s caned whenever he attempts a shot and it doesn’t go into the net, which probably puts him off.

https://twitter.com/foulthrownet/status/840641470617047043

However, after plugging away, Rambo got his goal in the second half to put Arsenal 5-0 up and seal Lincoln’s fate. Although we all laughed at the midfielder literally walking the ball into the neck, the careful ‘finish’ demonstrated how nervous Ramsey is about messing up, even front such close range.

In total, the Wales international had six shots in total – the most along with Theo Walcott. He also completed two successful dribbles, won a tackle and completed 65/71 passes overall.

Although it wasn’t perfect, it was the type of solid performance Ramsey needed considering he’s not been fantastic lately. His positioning was far more disciplined than Francis Coquelin and his passing was sharper, proving why he should be starting alongside Granit Xhaka over the Frenchman. The more his confidence and fitness develop, the better he’ll get.

Stats via Who Scored, Squawka and Transfermarkt.