Alright, so I fired up FIFA 23 the other day, specifically messing around in Ultimate Team like usual. You know how it is, scrolling through the club, looking at the transfer market, trying to figure out the next move.
So, I stumbled upon Aaron Ramsey. Had his OGC Nice card. Think I packed him early on, one of those non-rare golds you get flooded with. Didn’t think much of it at first, just another player item.
Trying to Make it Work
But then I was trying to build a cheap-ish Ligue 1 squad for some objective, maybe one of those Squad Battles things or early Rivals grinds. Needed a midfielder. Saw Ramsey sitting there. Thought, “Okay, Welsh legend, ex-Arsenal, maybe he’s got something left in the tank in-game?” His face stats didn’t look completely terrible for a basic card, you know? Decent passing, okay dribbling on paper.
So I slotted him into the midfield. Played a few matches. And man, it was… an experience. Not exactly a great one, if I’m being honest.
- He felt kinda slow, even though the pace stat wasn’t rock bottom.
- Turning felt like piloting a small boat sometimes.
- Passing was alright, sometimes he’d ping a decent ball, but nothing special.
- Shooting? Forget about it, unless he was wide open inside the box, which rarely happened.
It was frustrating because you remember the player he was, especially that amazing Euros run with Wales or his cup final goals for Arsenal. But in FIFA 23, at least this base version, he just felt… generic. Like so many other midfielders in that rating bracket.
The Reality Check
I guess it’s just how FIFA works, right? Unless you’ve got a special promo card or a top-tier icon, most players kinda blend together. The stats look okay, but the actual in-game feel is something else entirely. You need that hidden “meta” sauce, and base Ramsey just didn’t have it for me.
Played maybe 5 or 6 games with him, tried him in different formations, different instructions. Nope. He wasn’t awful, like actively losing me the ball every time, but he offered absolutely nothing standout. There were tons of other midfielders I could get for peanuts on the market who felt way smoother or had a better physical presence.
It’s a bit like the game itself sometimes. You grind for packs, hope for something amazing, and mostly end up with stuff you don’t really need or want. Ramsey’s card felt like that – technically okay, but ultimately just fodder.
Ended up chucking him into some random Squad Building Challenge pretty quickly. Needed the rating, and he wasn’t getting near my main team, or even my fun squads. Just another card recycled back into the system. Shame, really, but that’s the FUT cycle for you.
