Win It For Ramsey

Before I begin my post, I would like to address something.

There are three writers for this site. We all bring different points of views, but we work as a team. On Saturday, we witnessed yet another one of our players suffer a serious injury. That event caused one of our colleagues to write an inflammatory post about Stoke and their manager yesterday. While it was written out of pure anger, that doesn't excuse it. We try to present a level-headed view (but undoubtedly pro-Arsenal in the end, after all this is a site primarily about Arsenal Football Club), and the aforementioned post was nothing of the sort. We deeply apologize if we've offended anybody. This site is not meant to offend groups of fans; it's meant to observe the football world with an Arsenal pair of eyes. It won't happen again.

Now, moving on.

After letting my initial rage about the tackle die down for a couple of days, it's given me time to reflect on the actual challenge and the game itself. Many Arsenal bloggers have gone on about what they think of the tackle. The English media has had their say as well. Stoke City Football Club have had their say as well. The topic has been well covered, but I'd just like to add my two cents.

Ryan Shawcross clearly did not intend to break Aaron Ramsey's leg, but the tackle was reckless and dangerous. What I cannot excuse is the speed and location of the tackle. You can argue that Ramsey was too quick for him (and he definitely was on this occasion), but why was Shawcross swinging his leg that fast? As a defender, if you have your foot on the ground, there's pretty much no chance that you can break another opponent's leg. Being committed is one thing, but I believe the tackle was deserving of a red card and was dangerous. I've read many pundits and people talk about how if Ramsey wasn't injured, it would have only been a yellow card. But that's not the objective reality.

I can't lame the blame solely on Shawcross and Stoke on this. Challenges like Shawcross's are born out of bad parenting. And in this case, the bad parents are the English media and the Premier League's referees.

The agenda of the English media is clear. They want to promote the English game as one of passion where full bloodied challenges are welcome. When injuries like Ramsey's occur, instead of examining the state of tackling in games, there are built in excuses. Phrases like "he was too quick for him" and "he's not that type of player" are instantly brought up. Well, when Eduardo won a penalty against Celtic, perhaps Wenger should merely have said "he's not that type of player." The furore over Eduardo's "dive" was longer than this furore over Shawcross's challenge will be.

I do not want to lynch Shawcross, but to the majority of Arsenal fans, he will primarily be known as the man who shattered Aaron Ramsey's leg. To that end, perhaps Shawcross will have difficulties coming back and performing as he did (look at Martin Taylor's career). For all the rough challenges Arsenal encountered against Stoke, will it ever be to that level ever again? My guess is probably not. That's the fallout.

The English media will have you believe that these types of tackles and the flow of the game is what makes the English league special. I think the speed is a big part of it's charm nowadays, but it's only since the infusion of foreign talent (and managers) that the league has really thrived. It's no surprise that England's national team is better than ever, playing against such opposition can only help. Where once there was only an emphasis on passion, now technique is just as important. While holding on to the past, the English media was actually damaging it's future. When the rest of the world views Shawcross's challenge on Ramsey, they'll be horrified. Simply put, it doesn't belong in the game. When a man accidentally murders somebody, that's not a first degree murder, but it is manslaughter.

Shawcross should feel terrible about the incident. And for those who think that Wenger should apologize for his comments on Saturday, perhaps Shawcross should also apologize to Aaron Ramsey. From what I've read, all he's said is that there was no malice in the challenge and that he wishes a speedy recovery. An apology would be welcome, but I suppose it's not necessary.

Premier League referees don't seem to have a control on a lot of these games. It is the lack of cautioning and fouls that allow a team like Stoke to believe they have a right to play in the manner that they do. If they're allowed to do that, why wouldn't they? They have an obligation to fight for every point, and that is what they generally do. It's been pointed out that Arsenal are the second most fouled team in the league behind Hull City. That indicates that we don't get as many foul calls as we should, because most will agree that Arsenal are roughed up more than others.

The protection is sorely lacking.

We've seen three players in four and a half years suffer major injuries. That kind of trauma is enough to make any supporter enraged. And if a supporter is enraged, how do you think the players on Arsenal and Arsene Wenger feel about it? That's the bottom line.

This incident has revealed how one-sided football fans can be. That goes for both Stoke and Arsenal in this case. I read an ESPN correspondent talk about how he was sickened that Arsenal players were asking for a red card instead of tending to Ramsey. That's just a load of horseshit. Clearly, Cesc and Vermaelen were extremely upset at what happened. Arsenal fans, out of rage, have said some unpleasant things as well.

The real tragedy is that Aaron Ramsey is going to be out for over five months because of this challenge. Even Tony Pulis, who is Welsh himself, would never wish that on a player. But the aggression against Arsenal is not a surprise when we're going away up north. That is what we've come to expect, and that is what we have to learn to deal with.

And on to the football side of things, people say that the result pales in light of Ramsey's injury. That is undoubtedly true, but it's still very important. If I were Aaron Ramsey, I would not want my teammates to just roll over and die. I would want my teammates to fight. To stand up and represent as athletes. That was done on Saturday.

Two years ago, we lost Eduardo to a horrific injury. What's often noted about that game is our meltdown, what's not noted is that we came back from one goal down to take a one goal lead. Had we held on, we would have won the Premier League, I'm certain of it. But such a psychological blow of giving away a dubious penalty destroyed our title ambitions. This time around, it was different.

After about five minutes of no football at all from both sides, we struck back. We won a penalty when Stoke handled it. I don't know how people can claim that this wasn't a penalty. When William Gallas gave away a penalty against Manchester United two years ago, he was accosted for making a massive error. Had that decision not been given, we may have even won the Premier League. But when you leave your arms like that in the penalty box, you run that risk.

After Vermaelen tapped in the third goal, I saw a passion in this squad that I haven't seen for quite sometime.

Wenger likes to go on about how we play football the way it's supposed to be. He decries physical attacks on players, but our players have recently learned to show the opposition that they're here to play. Nasri shoved a Stoke player after they were haranguing Cesc. Near the end of the match, Cesc tackled Pugh simply to send a message. Then Cesc motioned to Pulis to shush his mouth. An act of impetuousness? Perhaps, but that's what I'd like to see. And for the record, it wasn't a reckless challenge; Cesc was never going to hurt anybody with that, he was just letting Stoke know that we will not be pushed around. That tackle is in marked contrast to what Robin van Persie did last year, when out of frustration he needlessly shoulder charged Thomas Sorensen and was sent off.

Ironically, the team most capable of absorbing a mental blow like Ramsey's is Arsenal. We've seen it twice already, and what doomed us the last time cannot destroy us this time around. I believe the war at the Britannia has prepared our team to chase the title like never before. Believe me when I tell you that this is the make or break moment for Arsene's latest experiment.

I actually relish playing against teams like Stoke. They work hard to frustrate us, and I view it as a test of how far a team has come. To win the Premier League, you must beat sides like Stoke both home and away. While we lost to them in the cup, we have gotten the six points we wanted.

Are our players ready? Saturday shows that we are.

While Aaron is in street clothes, we must win it for Aaron Ramsey.