Ramsey: United clash still significant for Gunners

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey says that Sunday’s game against Manchester United is still significant, despite some disappointing results for his side this season.

Historically, the fixture would have been a clash between two title-contenders, but United are currently in fifth and the Gunners sit five points below them in sixth.

Arsene Wenger’s men cannot afford to lose any of their last five Premier League games if they want to claim a top-four finish and Ramsey believes this position reflects the higher standard of competition this season.

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“Manchester United against Arsenal is a massive game no matter what the circumstances,” he said.

“It just shows how tight the Premier League is now with more teams fighting for the championship – even though we are still off that a little bit with United, it is still a massive game.

“A lot more teams have brought their own quality to the game. Liverpool, for example, are up there now, Chelsea last season had a difficult year but have come back and responded differently – a lot more teams and managers are having an impact.”

The 26-year-old signed with Arsenal, rejecting offers from United, in 2008, but thinks the best clashes between the two Premier League powerhouses came before that.

In fact, the Welsh international particularly enjoyed the heated exchanges between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane.

“They were exciting games,” he said. “A few more tackles were let go in those days. Everyone was looking forward to that battle and there was normally a red card to show for it.

“They showed how passionate they were to try to win this game and how much it meant to them and the team to get a result.”