Have Arsenal Missed Out on Perfect Ramsey Replacement?

News from Germany this afternoon confirms that new German International Maximilian Eggestein has extended his stay with Werder Bremen. However, have Arsenal missed a trick by not swooping in earlier to replace the outgoing Aaron Ramsey with the youngster?

Box-to-box midfielder Eggestein has been enjoying a breakout season in Northern Germany, impressing with his stamina, work-rate and eye for goal. He’s played 32 games for Werder Bremen in all competitions, helping them to a DFB Pokal semifinal and hopefully a European place. As part of a three-man midfield consisting of himself, Nuri Sahin and former Everton man Davy Klaassen, Eggestein has contributed a solid 6 goals and 3 assists.

A youth product of the Hanseatic club, the 22-year-old has been catching the eyes of Bayern and Dortmund – as well as top teams on the continent and in England. With Florian Kohfeldt’s side building a promising young core, they will be ecstatic that their best talent has extended his stay for some time yet.

Could Arsenal Rue Not Replacing Ramsey With Eggestein?

More from Arsenal

• Arsenal injury news: Mikel Arteta confirms “rapid” attacker suffered injury
• Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta rivals Manchester United for wonderkid
• Arsenal predicted lineup vs PSV: Mikel Arteta to drop “Henry-esque” winger
• Alan Shearer blasts “slow” Arsenal player – Should Mikel Arteta drop him?
• “Beast” Arsenal fans have noticed the GREAT form of fringe midfielder

Now that Aaron Ramsey‘s long stay in North London is to come to an end, Arsenal would certainly have done well to attract a promising talent like Eggestein to replace the Welsh maestro. With a slew of recent signings from the Bundesliga, it would not have been outside the realms of possibility.

This is particularly true as Arsenal youth boss Per Mertesacker (a former Bremen player himself) recently sealed a “strategic partnership” agreement with Werder’s legendary executive Thomas Schaaf, linking the two clubs together. Moreover, Arsenal have a strong German core headlined by Bernd Leno and Mesut Ozil, in addition to the likes of Aubameyang and Sokratis who spent a number of years in the Bundesliga.

Furthermore, Eggestein would have been an almost like-for-like replacement to Ramsey, who has been a key cog in the Emirates midfield for some time. Both men are industrious yet cultured midfielders, operating often in a slightly offensive, ball-carrying role.

Both like to make late runs into the box and have an eye for a spectacular goal, with Eggestein particularly impressing this term with his powerful, accurate shooting from range. With his solid defensive contributions, Eggestein could have become a key operator in Emery’s team, forming a promising young core alongside Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.

However, the most obvious reason Arsenal could have poached Eggestein was the fact his contract, like Ramsey’s, was due to run out this summer. Instead, the youngster has re-signed; and should Arsenal not adequately replace Ramsey, they could surely come to regret not registering their interest.