Arsene Wenger praised Aaron Ramsey for his improved finishing after he helped to inspire Arsenal to a 4-1 win over CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash on Thursday night.
The Wales international midfielder was in fine form for the Gunners at The Emirates as he scored twice in the dominant victory to help Arsenal take a big step towards the semi-finals.
Ramsey’s second goal against the Russian side was particularly impressive, as he back-heeled the ball over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
The midfielder has been steadily improving his game at Arsenal over the last few years and Wenger believes that his finishing is one of the key aspects that he has been working on.
Speaking at his post-match news conference at The Emirates on Thursday night, Wenger said: “For Aaron it is always the same, if he can have a a consistent presence in the side without being stopped… I personally think he has overcome his problems, he has no injury problems at all anymore.
“When you can play game after game, you can see that he is involved a lot in the build up and also goes to the end of things.
“What has changed since 2013 is that he is a much better finisher nowadays, he is much calmer, he is composed. Before, he rushed a little bit his finishing.”
Arsenal are currently preparing to return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon when they host Southampton at The Emirates.
The Gunners are in sixth place in the Premier League table and looking as if they are going to miss out on a top-four finish in the top flight for the second season running.
That means that winning the Europa League this season is their last realistic remaining hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.