Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has compared Aaron Ramsey, who signed a new contract yesterday, to Steven Gerrard and claims the Welshman possesses the star qualities to propel the North Londoners to years of success.
The Gunners rewarded Ramsey with a reported £100,000-a-week contract with the Welshman enjoying a superb individual campaign before he suffered a thigh injury.
The 23-year-old has been a key player for Arsenal this season, contributing eight goals and six assists in their Premier League title charge.
Gerrard has been an equally crucial player for Liverpool with ten goals and nine assists, as the Reds sit above Arsenal in the table by goal difference.
Parlour wrote in a blog on Sportlobster: Without doubt, Aaron Ramsey can become as influential as Steven Gerrard. Ramsey needs to believe in his own abilities.
“He is a young and exciting talent and will definitely be a top, top player in the future. He wants to learn and is blessed with the ideal attributes for a midfield player.
“Gerrard was the best player I have ever faced. I think he is absolutely world class. He isn’t as effective box-to-box as he was a few years ago, but he continues to make the difference.
“Ramsey was the perfect box-to-box midfielder in the first-half of the season and I always said if he could score a few more, he would be complete.”
Parlour, who retains close ties to his former club, also sees aspects of his own game in Ramsey.
He added: “His attitude is fantastic. I speak to the Arsenal staff and he is top drawer in training. He is energetic and he reminds me of myself in many ways.
“I trained like I was playing in a competitive football match and I think Aaron has the same sort of desire.
“He is similar in the way he runs around the pitch, but he’ll probably score more goals than I did.
“He always likes to run into the box, but he is also able to defend and keep it simple. Aaron is a very confident player and a good lad too.”
Ramsey and his rise to the Arsenal first-team suffered a major setback in February 2010 after Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross broke his leg.
The youngster admitted he struggled to recover psychologically, but Parlour believes Ramsey is now full of confidence and unafraid to stick the boot in.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on multiple news talk radio stations. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel.