‘I still don’t know what exactly happened’ – Aaron Ramsey confused over Arsenal exit but ‘always has love’ for club
ARSENAL icon Aaron Ramsey has declared he is still struggling to deal with his Emirates exit after the club pulled his contract extension off the table.
The 31-year-old headed into the 2018-19 season going into the final year of his deal in North London in what was Unai Emery’s first term in charge.
After being deemed as surplus to requirements at the start of the Spaniard’s reign, the Wales international slowly started to win back his place after a number of stellar displays.
And the three-time FA Cup champion, who scored the winning goals in the 2014 and 2017 finals, has claimed that he had agreed on extending his 11-year stay at Arsenal.
But the midfielder has stated that the Gunners decided to withdraw their proposal, leading him to join Juventus on a free transfer in a £400,000-a-week deal.
Speaking to The Times, Ramsey said: “It all happened… I agreed to a contract they proposed. Things went quiet for a few weeks.
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“I was telling my agent, ‘Let’s do it,’ then all of a sudden the contract was no longer there. So there was nothing to sign or agree.
“It was a difficult start for a few months with Unai. As the season was going on, I was playing more and playing really well.
“Then January came and I had to make a decision whether I carried on and saw what happened or whether I agreed somewhere.
“I decided to do that [Juventus move] because there was nothing on the table [from Arsenal].
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“There was a lot of change with the manager coming. I don’t understand, I still don’t know what exactly happened.
“I have no bad words or bad feelings to Arsenal. They are still a massive part of my life and I still look out for them and I am really glad to see them doing so well.
“I always have love for Arsenal and that will never change.”
After three years in Turin, Ramsey was released by the Old Lady in the summer – despite being contracted until 2023.
He subsequently linked up with French side Nice, where he is playing alongside former Premier League stars such as Ross Barkley, Kasper Schmeichel and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Even Nicolas Pepe made the move to the Ligue 1 outfit with Arsenal allowing the Ivorian to return to France on loan.
It took Ramsey just one minute to score on his Nice debut as he fired home moments after coming on against Toulouse last month to rescue a point.