Sam Wallace: Ramsey's perfect timing

The young Welsh midfielder shone in the destruction of Portsmouth and has a big month ahead of him for Arsenal

(AP)

Sometimes it just takes the right combination of factors for a young footballer's career to really take off and one glance at the life and times of Aaron Ramsey would suggest that his moment has arrived at last.

The Arsenal midfielder turned 19 on Boxing Day and suddenly it looks like everything is going his way. Cesc Fabregas is out injured at least until the game against Everton on 9 January and Alex Song departs for the African Nations Cup on Monday. Step forward Ramsey, the latest teenager to be left in charge of Arsenal's midfield and looking every inch like the next great young player at the club.

Against Portsmouth on Wednesday night Ramsey was sensational. He was too nimble on his feet for Pompey's midfield, too quick to cover the ground and then impressively confident when it came to taking his goal in the second half. The central-midfield role demands an assertive personality and, in the absence of Fabregas, Ramsey proved that he is exactly that.

Right time, right place and he should continue in the team for the visit to West Ham in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. The kid from Caerphilly can of course claim an appearance in the FA Cup final, for Cardiff City against Portsmouth in 2008, which is a lot closer to the trophy than many of his Arsenal team-mates have come in recent years. Yet, since leaving Cardiff that summer, it has naturally taken him a while to establish himself.

Ramsey recognised the significance to his career of the next few weeks when he has a great opportunity to stake a claim to a more regular place in the Arsenal first team. "Definitely, I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could fill in for them [Fabregas, Song]," he said. "It could be a big month. There have been injuries. I want to establish myself as a first-team player in the starting XI. Hopefully with opportunities like this I can show that I am more than capable of playing in the Arsenal starting XI and that is what I want to do, that is my target.

"Since coming to Arsenal I think I've improved as a player, through training with world-class players every day but I think I can still improve on some aspects of my game. Hopefully I can use this game as an opportunity now to really show what I can do. Most important is that we play well as a team to get the right results to keep the pressure on and progress in the Cup."

Ramsey has played a lot this season, 23 appearances in all, but Wednesday's game was just the fourth league start of his entire Arsenal career. Even at a club that fast-tracks its young players more than any other at the top of the Premier League, that is relatively rapid development. Ramsey has pushed himself to the front of the queue of those waiting to make the step-up into the first team, ahead of the homegrown Jack Wilshere, who is 18 today

The debate over Ramsey is whether he plays as the holding midfielder or more advanced, a position that belongs to Fabregas when he is fit. Watching him you cannot help but feel that he would be wasted in a holding position where plenty of average tacklers have made their name. "I feel more comfortable attacking, getting forward, getting into the box but I've played that holding role against Wolves," Ramsey said. "I've played the holding role for Wales so I'm more than confident playing there and think I can do a job there."

Ah, Wales. If he was English, and there was not a single Englishman in either starting line-up at Fratton Park, then Ramsey would be pushing hard for a call-up in the crucial March friendly against Egypt which is Fabio Capello's last chance to try someone new. Ryan Giggs did say that being Welsh at least enabled him to have a rest every summer when club-mates were at international tournaments, although the next generation of young Welsh players, Ramsey included, may just get to a major competition.

Ramsey was a promising rugby union player for Caerphilly when he was a schoolboy and could easily have made the grade at that sport. He also rejected Manchester United when he signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2008 when Arsène Wenger made a personal effort to convince him to sign. Following in the family example of rejecting the local traditions, Ramsey's brother Josh, 17, has switched codes and now plays rugby league for the Wales Under-18 team.

Wenger said that Ramsey was a player he could use at "right-back, left wing and central midfield." The Arsenal manager added: "He is an all-rounder, Cesc is a playmaker. What they have in common when they are on the pitch is the personality to say: 'I'm not scared to play. I'm here to play the game'."

Ramsey said after the victory over Portsmouth that he still believed that Arsenal, now third and four points behind Chelsea, could win the title. "We are confident that we can go into every game and win every game," he said, "we can definitely do it." His role in Arsenal's January progress has just got a great deal more significant.

Ramsey sweet: Aaron's almanac

Born 26 December, 1990, Caerphilly.

Club career

2007-08 Cardiff City

2008- Arsenal

International career

11 caps for Wales, two goals; debut v Denmark (a), November 2008.

2009 Welsh Young Player of the Year

* Became youngest Cardiff City player against Hull in April 2007, aged 16 years and 124 days.

* Midfielder's goal at Fenerbahce in October 2008 made him the fifth youngest Champions League scorer.