Aaron Ramsey made a tearful farewell to Arsenal after 11 years at the club on Sunday and said he was looking forward to the next phase of his career at Juventus. The Welshman, whose season ended prematurely after he sustained a hamstring injury last month, is set to join the Italian champions in the close season after signing a four-year deal in February.
Ramsey, who is the club’s highest scoring central midfielder with 64 goals, was given a guard of honour by his team mates and presented with a memento after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium.
“Obviously it’s very emotional, it’s been a hell of a journey,” the 28-year-old said. “Eleven years of my life, so much has happened in that, when I look back. You can tell by my voice how much it means to me. I’m really excited for the new challenge and new chapter in my life (at Juventus) but today it’s all about this. This is where I grew up. I just want to take this in today and let it settle in for a few more days before I can really look forward and concentrate on that.
“I’m going to club that’s playing in the Champions League, and playing with (Cristiano) Ronaldo. And that’s going to really sink in now, so I can get my head around that in the next few weeks and really look forward to that challenge.”
Goalkeeper Petr Cech, who is retiring at the end of the season and was also honoured by Arsenal, said Ramsey’s departure was a big loss for the London club. “I think when he came from Cardiff nobody really knew how great a player the club brought in and I think he gave everything he could all those 11 years,” Cech said.
Arsenal also confirmed the departure of striker Danny Welbeck. The Englishman, signed from Manchester United for £16mn in 2014, has not played since he had an ankle surgery in November and his contract expires at the end of the season. “I spoke with the club about this situation,” manager Unai Emery said. “The decision is he is going to leave.
The manager had little opportunity to deploy Welbeck in his first, and what turns out to be the player’s last, season at the club, as injuries restricted the forward to only 14 games this season. 
Welbeck became a popular player after joining from United. In his first season at the north London club he scored a memorable winning goal against United in an FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford. He lifted the trophy with Arsenal in 2017. 
However misfortune with injuries became a recurring problem for him and were part of the reason why he could not secure a regular starting spot. Emery evidently reasoned that the 28-year-old was dispensable as the Spaniard tries to build a squad capable of returning to the Premier League’s top four.
Arsenal will need an extraordinary turnaround on the final day of the Premier League season to finish in the top four after being held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. Needing victory to give themselves a realistic chance of securing a Champions League spot, they led through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early penalty at the Emirates only for Glenn Murray’s spot kick to drag Brighton level in a frantic second half.
The draw meant fifth-placed Arsenal ended the day four points behind Chelsea who had earlier beaten Watford to move third and three points behind stumbling Tottenham Hotspur.
While a win at Burnley and a loss for Tottenham at home to Everton would see the north London clubs finish level on points, Arsenal are eight worse off in terms of goal difference.
Arsenal have now managed to earn only one point from their last four league games -- a run that has ultimately left them needing to win the Europa League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“We tried but we didn’t take our chance to be in the top four,” manager Unai Emery, whose side will take a 3-1 lead to Spanish club Valencia for their Europa League semi-final, second leg, next week said.
“We fight and try to win each match in the Premier League but every match is difficult and today is an example of that,” he added. “We knew it is going to be difficult but our focus is now the Europa League,” he said. “We have the opportunity in the Europa League to do something important and we will try and do that.”