Ramsey: This is best Arsenal team in a long while

Arsene Wenger’s side ended last season strongly with just two defeats from their last 18 league games, and won their second FA Cup in succession with a dominant 4-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley. 

But the north Londoners were made to pay for a terrible start in which they won only four of their first 12 matches of the season to leave themselves 15 points off the early pace. Ramsey says they can’t afford a similar run.

"Consistency is key," said the Welshman, speaking exclusively in the September 2015 issue of FourFourTwo. "The form we showed towards the end of last season is the form we need to show throughout the new season if we want to be challenging for the title. 

"In the last few years we've always had half a season where we've been the most consistent team – it would be great if we could do that back-to-back in one season. 

"I think it's the best team we've had in a long while - probably the best team I've been involved in - and this club can get better. We're in a very strong position to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League."

Ramsey also paid tribute to boss Wenger, who he says is still held in high regard by everyone in the Gunners’ squad.

"He's one of the best managers in the world," said the 24-year-old. "What he's done for this club since he first took over is quite remarkable. He turned some good players into world-class players.

"All the players have the highest respect for him, and he deserves that."

Interview: Ben Welch

Aaron Ramsey wears the New Balance Football Visaro range, a boot designed for players who ‘Make Chances’. To find out more about New Balance Football go to newbalance.com/football or follow @NBFootball on Twitter and Instagram.  

Read the full interview with Aaron Ramsey in the September 2015 issue of FourFourTwo, available in print, on iPad and also iPhone from Saturday August 1. It's season preview time! FFT is on hand to give you the skinny on 128 teams across England and Scotland in our big, shiny and perfectly formed 100-page pre-season supplement. Plus a One-on-One with Gary Neville, interviews with Vincent Kompany, Daley Blind and Harry Kane, and we go behind the scenes for the first days of pre-season training with Bournemouth. What's more, there's Planet Football's Euro-league previews, the usual Upfront silliness and stacks of expert advice in Performance. Subscribe!