Ramsey: 'Of course I want Wenger to stay'

Aaron Ramsey doesn't want Arsene Wenger to leave the club he's served for the past 21 years.

The Welshman emphasised his support for Arsenal's longtime manager after scoring the winning goal against Chelsea in Saturday's entertaining FA Cup final, which delivered Wenger's seventh trophy in the competition.

"Of course I want him to stay at the club," Ramsey told the BBC, echoing similar statements from some of his teammates over the course of a rocky campaign. "He deserves this. We changed formation and had a lot of success. Fair play to him, he changed the system. Hopefully he'll be there next season."

Wenger's switch to a back-three following April's humbling defeat to Crystal Palace gave Arsenal the impetus to claim a third FA Cup title in four years. It was used to great effect Saturday, with Per Mertesacker in between Rob Holding and Nacho Monreal in a makeshift backline.

Mertesacker, who hadn't played 90 minutes this season, benefited from the change. The slower German could focus on his positioning while leaving the running to his defensive partners, and it paid dividends. Mertesacker led the way with seven clearances.

But Arsenal, which had fallen under intense scrutiny after missing a Champions League berth for the first time in 20 years, simply looked up the occasion. The Gunners made the recently crowned Premier League champion seem ordinary, and created many more clear-cut chances than the Blues.

"I can't describe this. It's been an up and down season. We've finished with the FA Cup so it has to be successful," Ramsey, who also scored the winner in the 2014 final, added.

Wenger said his future would become clearer next week. His contract with the Gunners expires in June, but it's widely believed a two-year contract extension remains on the table.