Since his horrific injury against Stoke City in 2010, Aaron Ramsey has not really been the same player. Now what exactly does that mean? Well, not only has playing out position hurt him, but he appears to still struggle when it comes to a more bone crunching tackle, which is understandable.
Apart from that, Ramsey's confidence has taken a serious dip and that could be blamed on Arsene Wenger's choice of playing him in a position that he is clearly not fit for. Asking the Welshman to play a wide position is like asking Per Mertesacker to play on the wing. Not exactly, but you get the point.
Ramsey is not built for speed nor does he have the creativity needed to play in that position. His performances in that role have really hurt him from a mental stand point, as well as from a physical stand point.
Going at defenders is not his thing, but Wenger's stubborn side and desire to include Ramsey in the squad was quickly starting to affect Ramsey's development.
After committing the same problem a few times this season, much to the disgust and frustration of Arsenal fans, Wenger seems to finally have figured out what works best for Ramsey. It is not a wide position or an advanced position for that matter, but an anchorman who can help defend as well as support the offense from a central position.
When you watch someone like Mikel Arteta play in the Arsenal midfield, he makes everything look so simple, yet he rarely is seen making 20 or 30 yard sprints. Positioning is key and that is one thing Ramsey will need to learn, but given the chance to play in his preferred position will give him the chance to develop properly.
Part of adapting to that role will require the Arsenal midfielder to get rid of the ball quicker as he tends to get caught on the ball more often than not. But, being able to fix that small issue in his game will really go a long way for an Arsenal side that constantly takes one or two touches to many.
Ahead of their match against Liverpool at the Emirates where Arsenal drew 2-2, Arsene Wenger spoke about Ramsey's potential and how he believes he is ready to establish himself with the Gunners.
"He has a fantastic engine and fantastic qualities," said the Arsenal manager.
"He has to use that in a very intelligent way. I believe he is an intelligent player who understands football well."
"If he can bring his qualities to the team play, he will be an absolutely outstanding player, which I think he will be. He takes things on board and tries to do what you ask him to do, and in the last two games, you could see a really positive transformation in his game."
So why did it take Arsene Wenger so long to sort this issue out? Why did he continuously choose to play Ramsey out of position when it was more than obvious that he was hurting the team and his own development?
Although Tomas Rosicky and Andrei Arshavin may not have the pace of Theo Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain, they could and can make a better contribution out wide than Ramsey.
All these questions needed to be asked of Le Prof, regardless of his untouchable status at the Emirates. Fortunately, whether the frustrations of the fans had anything to do with it, Wenger has finally made the change.
Now, Ramsey's development is solely in his hands. Battling for a central role will not be easy with Jack Wilshere in great form and Mikel Arteta as well as Abou Diaby as the other options, but that should motivate the Welshman to work harder to earn his spot.
His progress has been much better as of late and his performances have slowly started to win over some of those fans who have questioned his presence in the squad for quite some time.
Given time and confidence to develop, could the 22-year-old be the next Mikel Arteta for the Gunners?
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