Ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has opened up on Aaron Ramsey's move away from the Emirates Stadium to Italian giants Juventus, confirming the Welshman had wanted to stay.
Wenger managed the Wales star for 10 years after he left Cardiff City in 2008 to link up with the Gunners, before Ramsey opted for a move to Serie A this season on a four-year contract after the club withdrew an offer of a new deal.
According to beIN Sports, Wenger, who left the Emirates Stadium in 2018 and is seemingly out of the running to take over at Bayern Munich, said: "In the end I met him once, he wanted to stay at Arsenal.
"They had an agreement and the club came back on that, from what I understood.
"I tried a long time to extend his contract but sometimes you have the influence of agents as well.
"Every case is different and you have to understand in decision-making always who is influential - or not - when you make transfers.
"What I know from him, he was keen to stay."
Ramsey hit the headlines this week when he picked up his first Champions League goal since 2015 against Lokomotiv Moscow, but may have been on the receiving end of a few cross words from Cristiano Ronaldo for finishing off an effort that was already going in.
Asked if he thought Ramsey had made the right move in heading for Juventus, Wenger added: "If he plays.
"Like Ruud [Gullit] says, you have to win but as well when you're 27 or 28, that's your best years as a football player.
"If you don't play from 27-32 that's difficult to swallow. You can be patient at 21, 22, 23... you're in and out. Once you get to 27 you have to play."
