Arsenal have had an absolute contract mess on their hands in the last year and it doesn’t look like it will get any better soon.

Alexis Sanchez pouted until he was sold with six months left on his contract. Mesut Özil renewed his after about two years of speculation, and Jack Wilshere is currently in the news over speculation about his contract.

But one that has become lost in the shuffle is Aaron Ramsey’s contract.

The Welshman will have one season remaining on his contract this summer. Arsenal face a decision: to sell, or not to sell?

Ramsey is currently on £100,000 per week. A substantial sum, but he will no doubt be asking for salary of double that to bring him closer to other top-level stars like Özil.

Here is why he is worth that, and probably should also be given the vacant captain’s armband as well.

Trophies

Football is about winning things. Winning is fun. And Ramsey has won trophies for the club.

When fans talk about the “legends” of the club, there is talk of fantastic goals, incredible bits of skill, but most of all it centres around what they won.

Silverware is king.

Ramsey has won three major trophies for Arsenal.

They may not be the trophies that Arsenal fans wanted the most, but they are major trophies nonetheless.

Having a direct hand in winning two of the three cements his club “legend” status.

Scoring the FA Cup Final winning goal in 2014 and 2017 will be memories that fans will hold onto forever.

The first because it ended a long title drought that Arsenal was much maligned for, and the second for finally vanquishing Chelsea and Diego Costa.

If scoring not one, but two cup final winning goals does not make a player worthy of being honored, then what does?

This is why the game is played. This is why Ramsey is an Arsenal legend.

And he deserves to be paid like one. The club should pay him whatever he wants. Not just for what he has done in the past, but for the likelihood of moments like these coming in the future as well.

Goals from midfield

Midfielders that can “run the game” but also bang in goals at a reliable rate are all the rage.

With the success that Kevin de Bruyne has had at Manchester City, clubs and fans want players that will imitate his play style.

Ramsey has bagged 11 goals and 8 assists this season in 31 games in all competitions. Arsenal have had forwards with less contribution than that.

In Europe, he was arguably Arsenal’s best player. He had a hand in five goals in six games on the continent.

Next season, the promising duo of Lacazette and Aubameyang will open even more space for Ramsey to charge into the box and build on his success of this season.

Aaron Ramsey has a knack for being at the right place at the right time.

Many of his goals come from well-timed runs into the box with a perfectly placed shot. His leaping, side-footed volley against CSKA Moscow this season was on another level.

https://twitter.com/thomas11walters/status/981979524899442689

There is also the occasional long-range screamer.

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His hat trick against Everton in February was a sight to behold.

He is the only midfielder than can contribute with regular goals in the Arsenal squad at the moment. Arsenal need that threat.

The going rate for a player like Ramsey is not cheap, but it is worth it.

Success with Wales

Whenever a player achieves success at both the club level AND international level, their value increases more than if they had succeeded at one or the other.

Ramsey led his country on a surprise run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, their first appearance in the European Championships.

He also nearly led them to their second World Cup appearance, narrowly missing out on a playoff position by two points.

International success always drives up a player’s value.

It raises their profile and marketing impact. But, more importantly, it proves that their success is not just because of the players around them at club level.

If they can play well and win with a completely different system and set of teammates, it proves that the player himself is great.

Ramsey’s success with Wales shows that he will be able to succeed under whatever manager Arsenal appoint this summer. They should do everything to extend his contract to make him available for the next manager to select.

All this is to say that Ramsey is worth whatever he is asking for.

Pay the man. Give him the armband too.

Hopefully, he is just waiting to see who the next manager is to sign his contract.

If he goes, Arsenal will surely miss him.

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com