The lad Smith Rowe looks like he is going to be a player
Paul Merson
Merson believes a key reason Ramsey is being let go is because Unai Emery rates 18-year-old Emile Smith Rowe so highly that he could be a possible replacement.
"I think there is a couple of good kids coming through and I think the manager has looked at it and gone, you know what, 'I can't give you £200,000 a week, I can probably get better somewhere else'," he said on The Debate.
"I'm not saying me, I think Ramsey is alright, I just think the manager has looked at it and gone I can't give you that kind of money and thinks he can get better.
"The lad Smith Rowe looks like he is going to be a player. He might be one of them he thinks, who knows, next season I can bring him in steadily.
Aaron Ramsey was disappointed the club did not want to improve his wages (Image: Getty)
"If they both played the same amount of games, who would score the most goals? I think this lad Rowe is a good player."
Ramsey started in Arsenal's 3-0 Europa League win over Vorskla Poltava on Thursday and Merson thinks that means he is certain not to play against Tottenham on Sunday.
He added: "I thought that would happen as he won't play on Sunday.
"I thought it was quite clever of the manager. He's looked at the fixtures and gone, ‘Right, I've got Tottenham after this trip,’ a long time ago.
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Emile Smith Rowe scored his third goal of the season for Arsenal against Vorskla on Thursday (Image: Getty)