Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey targets yet more Wembley FA Cup success... and this time it will be for his late Gran Eileen

• e-mail

Aaron Ramsey has scored 25 goals for Arsenal since the start of last season, none more vital than a dramatic extra-time winner in the FA Cup final.

But his last one — the only goal of the game at Burnley — meant the world, because it was for someone special.

‘I’ve had a tough few weeks,’ said Ramsey, who pointed skywards after scoring at Turf Moor. ‘I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster of late. My gran passed away a few weeks ago and she meant an awful lot to me. We had a great relationship and I’ve dedicated my last couple of goals to her.

Aaron Ramsey celebrates his goal against Burnley by dedicating it to his late Gran who passed away

‘Her name is Eileen. She’s on my Mum’s side and we used to call her Nanny Leany. She was 84. She was an incredible woman.

‘She lost her husband early in her life and raised seven kids on her own and in those days it was an incredibly difficult thing to do. She was always happy, making jokes and I had that sort of outlook on life. She always believed in me and gave me reassurances. It has been a difficult time.’

His grandmother would have been proud of young Aaron as he took time out from preparations for today’s FA Cup semi-final against Reading to pay his tribute to her. Just as she must have been proud of his career in football and the way he rebuilt it after a badly broken leg.

‘She used to watch me play and would take me to games when I was eight or nine,’ Ramsey added. ‘She would always be asking how I was doing. She didn’t go to my games but I got her Sky to watch a few. She would always complain it was not on normal TV.’

Ramsey will be on ‘normal TV’ when the BBC screen today’s semi-final from Wembley, as he was last May when his 16th goal of a prolific season won the FA Cup and ended Arsenal’s nine-year wait for a trophy. ‘It was a great day and a great moment in my career,’ he said. ‘It was a relief as well.’

Ramsey points to the sky has the goalscorer is greeted by Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin at Turf Moor

Ramsey and Bellerin celebrate on the deck after the Welsh midfielder had fired home for the Gunners

Arsenal had fought back from two down against Hull and 108 minutes had elapsed when Ramsey fired his side into a 3-2 lead before going off on a celebratory sprint which he ended flat on his back, exhausted, beneath a pile of jubilant team-mates.

‘I was knackered,’ smiled Ramsey. ‘We were in extra-time and my celebration, I didn’t really know what to do. I was just running about and it all caught up on me then so I needed a couple of seconds just to get my breath back and realise just what I’d just actually done. It was definitely overwhelming. And it was a great way to finish the season for me personally and for the team finally to win something. It was an amazing feeling.

Ramsey wheels away in celebration after scoring in extra time at Wembley against Hull City

Ramsey is joined by Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta during the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 2014

The Welsh goalscorer is mobbed by his friends as they celebrate his goal at Wembley in 2014

‘I’m no different to anyone else. My dream was always scoring a goal in the FA Cup final and I had managed to live my dream. Then to see how much it meant to people when a quarter of a million came out on the streets the next day. It was a beautiful day and you could see everyone was in it together.’ Ramsey had played in the 2008 FA Cup final for Cardiff aged 17, but his winners’ medal now takes pride of place in a display cabinet in the study at his home.

‘I’ve a few shirts in there, my debut shirt at Cardiff, the FA Cup winners’ shirt, some boots to mark my achievements,’ said Ramsey. ‘And there’s a big desk in there which I never use.

The Welshman looks chuffed as he sets his eyes on the gleaming silverware he helped earn his side 

Goalscorer Ramsey hugs his FA Cup following his goal against Hull City at Wembley in 2014

More than a quarter of a million fans took to the streets to celebrates Arsenal's 2014 FA Cup success 

‘That feeling you get after winning is difficult to get. Everyone realised we wanted more. We are putting pressure on ourselves to get the best from each other and I feel we’ve done that in the second half of this season.

‘We’ve really stuck by each other, worked hard for each other and we want another feeling like we had last season. We do push ourselves as a team and I think the title is getting closer. Last season we started really well and maybe faded away. We lost against the bigger teams, but this season we’ve done better against them. This season, we didn’t start too well but the second half has been really good and consistent. I feel we are very close.’

If Chelsea collapse against the odds in the title race, Arsenal are best placed to pounce after a run of 33 points from a dozen Barclays Premier League games since New Year’s Day. ‘That’s still a possibility,’ said Ramsey. ‘You can’t rule it out. You can’t. When you have that momentum, it is still possible. Even though it will be difficult we have to win our remaining games and see where that leaves us.

‘It’s going to be difficult. Chelsea have a lot of points, so they will have to slip up a few times for us to catch them. So it will be difficult, but it’s still possible.’

His optimism reflects the mood in Arsenal’s camp, very different from this time last year when they went into an FA Cup semi-final stifled by the desperation to end the trophy-free years and Arsene Wenger’s uncertain future. They staggered past Wigan on penalties.

Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski makes a save against Wigan Athletic during FA Cup semi final match

Fabianski's save helped Arsenal to progress to the FA Cup final which they won at Wembley in 2014

Arsenal are stronger and more solid now, with more weaponry, flair and freedom than last year. But that does not mean they will swat Reading aside.

‘We probably did feel the pressure,’ admitted Ramsey. ‘But we got through and went on to win it and we haven’t got that sort of pressure now. That pressure is gone because we won something and there is no more of this “nine years”.

‘It’s a different sort of pressure, but one we’ve been up against many times when we’ve played lesser teams. It’s important not to take the game lightly. We just have to focus and if we manage ourselves correctly, we will go through.’

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be hoping to add another piece of silverware to his collection