Aaron Ramsey hoping former team-mate Mikel Arteta leads Arsenal to league title

The pair won the FA Cup together at Arsenal in 2014.

Aaron Ramsey hopes his old Arsenal pal Mikel Arteta can lead his former club to Premier League glory this season.

Ramsey played alongside Arteta for five years in the Arsenal midfield and the Spaniard was the Welshman’s captain for two of those.

The bond between FA Cup winners Ramsey and Arteta runs even deeper as the Gunners boss studied for his coaching badges in Wales, something the two men often spoke about during their time together at the Emirates Stadium.

Wales Training Session and Press Conference – Vale Resort – Monday 27th March — Aaron Ramsey was an Arsenal team-mate of the club’s current manager Mikel Arteta (Nick Potts/PA)

“It would be absolutely great (if Arsenal win the league),” said Wales captain Ramsey, who made nearly 370 appearances for the club before leaving north London for Juventus in 2019.

“It is still a massive part of me. I spent 10, 11 years there and for them to go on and win the league, I’m as much a fan as anybody.

“I still know so many players and members of staff there. The fans deserve it.”

Arsenal v Crystal Palace – Premier League – Emirates Stadium — Mikel Arteta, who has guided Arsenal to the top of the Premier League, studied for his coaching badges in Wales (John Walton/PA)

He said: “You could see his leadership qualities and the way that he handled himself was second to none.

“What he is doing now, definitely, you could see he was always going to be a manager one day, the way he thought and saw the game and how intense he was as well.

“It is absolutely unbelievable what he has done there, what they are doing at the moment.

“They have done a fantastic job in producing some top managers and a lot of people are coming through that programme at the moment.”

Ramsey has taken over the Wales armband following Gareth Bale’s retirement and was left “proud” by the team’s performance in their 1-1 draw against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia in Split on Saturday.

Latvia are the opponents for Wales’ second game in Euro 2024 qualifying in Cardiff on Tuesday – and Ramsey will be accompanied on to the pitch by his seven-year-old son Sonny.

Rangers v Heart of Midlothian – Scottish Cup – Final – Hampden Park — Aaron Ramsey, pictured with his son after the final whistle of the 2022 Scottish Cup final during his loan spell at Rangers, will walk out with him ahead of the Wales-Latvia game on Tuesday

“He was captain for his local team on Saturday as well, so that made it a bit more special. He will be coming out with me before the game.

“It was important to get a point on the board in Croatia and get some momentum.

“Now we need to take care of our home games, which we have done well in previous campaigns.”