“Once Aaron Ramsey starts scoring goals, he won’t stop,” prophesised Arsene Wenger in 2012. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Indeed, the surprisingly uneventful Aaron Ramsey of this season is almost incomparable to the Aaron Ramsey that scored 16 times in 34 appearances across all competitions during the 2013/14 campaign – including an extra-time winner in the FA Cup final to secure Arsenal’s first trophy in nine years – and worryingly similar to the Aaron Ramsey prior, whose passive mentality yet overcomplicated style generated quite an adverse reaction from the Emirates faithful.

So far this term, he’s found just three goals and two assists in 18 Premier League appearances, compared to eight goals and six assists in the same number of outings last season, despite averaging more shots per match. Although it seemed the Welshman had finally developed into the world-class, goalscoring midfielder he’s often heralded to become, one has to consider the realistic possibility of Ramsey’s talismanic proficiency being simply a flash in the pan.

There’s still glimpses of last season’s Ramsey – his sensational strike against Galatasaray, dubbed the greatest of his career, being the predominant example – and he remains a progressive mixture of industry and flair in the Gunners’ engine room, but the question persists; how important to Arsenal is a goalless Aaron Ramsey, if he’s important at all?

The Ramsey-ites will argue there’s a lot more to the Wales international’s game that doesn’t make the Match of the Day highlight reel, and last season that was certainly true. In addition to his flurry of worldly nets, the 24 year-old averaged 0.4 assists, 3.3 tackles, and 65 successful passes per 90 minutes whilst recording a duel success rate of 47% – a fantastic all-round contribution and amongst the best returns of any central midfielder in Europe.

All those aforementioned stats have dropped this year however, suggesting Ramsey’s overall performances are interlinked with the confidence goalscoring form provides. And unfortunately, in the absence of his regular nettings, the Wales international’s contribution doesn’t particularly stand out from the rest of the Premier League’s midfield herd; two tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.6 chances created per match this season, with a pass completion of 84%.

Whoscored.com have awarded him a rating of 6.98 in the league and that sums up where Ramsey’s at right now; by no means detrimental to Arsenal, yet leaps and bounds behind the talismanic, match-winner he was last year. When the Gunners finally reach full strength in the middle of the park upon Mikel Arteta’s and Jack Wilshere’s returns to fitness, the 24 year-old’s habitual position in the starting XI will come under serious threat.

But in some ways, Ramsey’s current hamstring injury – that will likely see him out until March – couldn’t have come at a better time. Last year, it collapsed Arsenal’s title bid at the most crucial moment, just as they entered the toughest run of fixtures of the campaign, but this term it offers him some much-needed time to recuperate and rediscover the basics of his game – advice he’s heard from Arsene Wenger before.

After all, the Welshman’s creativity and technical qualities remain undoubted and to suggest they can only be applied to finding the net is a complete fallacy; when combined with his natural athleticism,  they make him a natural suitor to many different midfield roles.

This season, once again, everything’s got a little too complicated. Suddenly it’s take-ons around the edge of his own penalty area followed by a 50 yard pass, and relentless long-shots from the most audacious of angles. Although the Wales international is obviously capable of performing such worldly feats in the comfort of London Colney, reproducing them consistently in competitive matches is a completely different task.

Clearly however, Ramsey can’t rely upon goals for the rest of his career. Although he’ll likely enjoy proficient spells from time-to-time, it’s too infrequent to define his game – he’s no Frank Lampard, for example. So if the Welshman is to remain an important player for Arsenal, it’s  essential he now develops the other parts of the midfield trade – particularly, playmaking and defensive contribution – for when the goals are hard to find.

In the mystical, unpredictable world of football, focusing away from finding the onion bag will likely be what rekindles Ramsey’s prior goalscoring form.