Aaron Ramsey explains why Arsene Wenger decided to use him on the wings

Aaron Ramsey has explained that Arsene Wenger had deployed him as a wide forward against Crystal Palace to allow him to create and move into pockets of space.

The Welshman was deployed in the central midfield position alongside Francis Coquelin in their 2-0 loss to West Ham at the Emirates last weekend, with Santi Cazorla being moved to the wings. However, the move did not go as planned and with Sanchez available, Wenger went back to his preferred formation which served them well in the second half of last season.

Ramsey, who had previously expressed his dissatisfaction at having been shunted to the wings, was pleased with his new role, where he revealed that the manager had asked him to move infield from wide and take up dangerous positions in front of the Palace defence. The move worked for the Gunners as they carved the Eagles open repeatedly in the opening half an hour, but were undone by their profligacy in front of the goal.

Ramsey acknowledged that the managers decision worked favourably for them, but repented the missed chances, which on some other day could have got him on the scoresheet.

"It was the manager's decision and he tweaked things around. He told me to try and get in between the lines, not stay outside, to come inside and I thought I did that by getting into some dangerous positions. Some of the combination play was really good and on another day we could've scored more," Ramsey told Arsenal's official website.

"We played really well, got into some dangerous positions in between the lines and on another day we could have scored a few more. Even though we conceded we never questioned our ability to go on and score again.

"I had a couple of chances and maybe on another day they would've gone in. I'm just happy for the team, for Olivier to get his goal and to get the win," he added.