Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested his midfielder Aaron Ramsey is focusing too much of his attention on scoring goals after his indifferent start to the season.
Ramsey was the Gunners star performer last season and end the campaign on the real high as he fired the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Hull at Wembley in May, but Wenger has claimed he needs to get back to basics as he looks to cement his place in an Arsenal midfielder oozing with attacking talent.
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta are all pushing for a starting spot in the Arsenal midfield, with Ramsey being encouraged by his manager to appreciate his role in the team.
"You always have to come back to basics," Wenger told reporters when asked about Ramsey's indifferent form this season. "What is my job? Midfielder, win the ball and give a good pass.
"I believe sometimes he felt a bit more pressure to score. He is a [Frank] Lampard type and when you watch the picture again, who is in the box? Oh, my friend Aaron is there, but he has to start from midfield.
"He has a terrific engine and on the pitch he never hides, so when he sometimes makes a mistake it is [noticeable], but if you look at his overall contribution to the team, it is always fantastic.
"After that, with his natural engine, a consequence of that is he will have chances. If you play like [you believe that you] have to score, every time you want to be in the box you forget a little bit of the basics of the job, but he is back now.
"He had a little moment when he was not at his best but that can happen. I am fully confident that he is back."
Wenger will look to Ramsey to shine in Saturday's north London derby against Tottenham, with the Arsenal boss warning there are difficult days ahead of Spurs as they look to invest a huge some of money in a new stadium believed to be costing around the club in excess of 400 million pounds.
"If you look at the history of all the English clubs who have built a new stadium and look at where they have finished, then it tells you how difficult it is," added Wenger. "I knew always that would be the most sensitive period in the history of the club.
"When we were in a position where we had to be in the Champions League just financially and you get into March/April and are like that [not in top four], the stress is terrible because you feel the future of the club is at stake and you have not a lot of margin [for error]. Every point you lose can be dramatic.
"If an owner comes in, and says I put 400 million pounds to buy the stadium then it is easy, but the way we did it is the hardest way, because we had no outside financial help and had to negotiate with the banks just to get the money at the start.
"Let's not forget we paid 120 million pounds just for the land. In the end we built the stadium for 400 million pounds, today it would cost 600 or up to 700 million."