Watched by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan and a partisan crowd, Robert Page’s players refused to be cowedVisitors to Baku invariably depart Azerbaijan with unnerving memories of crossing roads in the face of kamikaze local motorists.Pedestrians hoping for longevity require the sort delicately calibrated balance of caution and aggression showcased so superbly on the pitch by Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and the rest of Robert Page’s impressively streetwise side on Wednesday night. Related: Ramsey and Roberts sink Turkey to put Wales on verge of Euro 2020 progress Related: Robert Page hails Gareth Bale after captain drives Wales to victory Continue reading...
Ramsey is off to Juventus in the summer but his double-act here with Mesut Özil reached heights all-too-rarely seenYou get what you pay for, as the old saying goes. And on this evidence, Aaron Ramsey is worth every penny of the reported £400,000 a week he will receive as a Juventus player over the next four years.More than a few eyebrows were raised in February when it was announced the Wales international would be moving to Serie A in the summer after running down his contract yet against one of Italy’s most respected sides, Ramsey delivered a performance which underlined just how good he can be. Since the deal was confirmed, he has been the driving force in the revival...
Post-Wenger era at Arsenal gives the semi-explored player the chance to become the complete midfielder under EmeryHow can I begin anything new with all of yesterday inside me, a wise man once wrote: not talking about Arsenal in the post-Wenger days but still kind of talking about Arsenal in the post-Wenger days.Most likely it won’t hit home until the first Premier League match at the Emirates next week, one of those August days when the grass is a wild lime green, when results and goals pass in a sun-drunk daze and football feels like a dance or a lark or a bit of fun. At which point there might be the first pang. Related: Joey Barton: ‘I’ve been through many...