• Champions League

Ramsey proved Wenger wrong with wonder goal

Lukas Podolski polishes Aaron Ramsey's left foot after his wonder goal against Galatasaray © Getty Images

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Aaron Ramsey's wonder strike against Galatasaray has already been hailed as a leading candidate for Champions League goal of the season, but even if its quality is surpassed the Arsenal midfielder can take pride from it having proved his manager wrong.

Arsenal's third goal - Ramsey's second of the night - in their 4-1 rout was by far the best of the game as he rifled a left-footed effort into the top corner from outside of the penalty area.

'It was important to bounce back'

• After the euphoria of his wonder strike, Aaron Ramsey was more grounded when talking about how important it was for Arsenal to bounce back from their Premier League setback against Stoke on Saturday.
• "Obviously we came here wanting to win the game so we're happy that we won," he said.
• "We finished off on a high in the group stages and now we're looking forward to seeing who we're up against in the next round.
• "We looked dangerous every time we went forward tonight, which was pleasing, and we scored a few goals which is always nice.
• "So we took full advantage of the opportunity. It was nice to get the four goals that we scored tonight."

But manager Arsene Wenger initially thought his player made the wrong decision. "When he took the shot I thought that was maybe not the best idea," Wenger said.

"But the way he took it, it flew in. The goals he is scoring is linked to his performances at the moment and that certainly helps his confidence to score goals like that."

Speaking shortly after the end of the match, Ramsey described the goal as "up there" with the best he has scored, before adding that he preferred his volley against Norwich in May.

The stats show Ramsey's effort, from 28.7 yards, reached almost 53.4mph and took 1.1 seconds to hit the back of the net. And later, the midfielder changed his mind, writing on his Instagram account: "Seen my second goal back and definitely my best."

Describing his strike, the Welshman said: "The ball came to the edge of the box and I thought, 'Why not have a go?' So I had a go and it went in."

The reaction of Ramsey's team-mates was during the celebration was varied. Yaya Sanogo looked stunned, while goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny held his head in his hands. Mathieu Flamini chose to give his midfield partner a round of applause.

• Aaron Ramsey to score first against Newcastle on Saturday , at 11/2 with bet365*
• For full odds visit www.bet365.com >>
• *All odds correct at time of publishing.

Although with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi around, it may not be a top contender for long, former Arsenal star Paul Merson said: "I've never seen anything like it in all my years. It was phenomenal."

Fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp claimed it was one of the competition's best. He added: "Forget goal of the night, that's one of the goals of the season.

"It was just a sublime strike."

As expected, Twitter was awash with praise. And former Swindon Town and Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft joked: "Ramsey! What a goal! The best thing from Wales since Catherine Zeta-Jones."

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