Three things we learned from Aaron Ramsey

Oxford United beat Aldershot Town 3-1 in their first match under Aaron Ramsey and the former Arsenal man has already stamped his mark on the team.

The U's won in their first pre-season friendly in front of their supporters after going a goal down, Aidomo Emakhu, Gatlin O'Donkor and Jeon Jin-woo scoring the goals to secure victory at the EBB Stadium.

Oxford were hit with a transfer embargo earlier this month with the club committing to keeping the squad together and the new boss 'excited' to work with the current group.

During Tuesday's win, there were some standout aspects that Ramsey had brought to the table.

All three goals against the Shots came from the U's applying pressure high up the pitch.

For their first, midfielder Jamie McDonnell harassed the hosts' centre back, putting in a sweet tackle to set Ruben Roosken on his way before his assist for Emakhu.

Peter Kioso on the ball for Oxford United (Image: Oxford United)

The second came from O'Donkor positioning himself on the shoulder and pouncing on a goalkeeping error to slide home, before Jin-woo nicked the ball away from a defender at the halfway to bear down on goal and neatly chip the keeper.

Off the ball, Oxford looked energetic and eager to not give time to opposing defenders.

Under Ramsey, it seems as though United are beginning to get used to owning the ball.

Goalkeeper Jamie Cumming was noticeably on the ball for slightly longer on Tuesday and tried to prioritise a short ball to Cameron Brannagan.

Oxford United captain Cameron Brannagan (Image: Jason Dawson)

On more than one occasion, the captain, and pivot, would then find one of the full backs in space and the team would then bring the ball forward and attack down the wings.

There were a few early scares with the Shots putting pressure on the keeper, but Oxford quickly grew into this new way of starting from the back.

We had seen it in one or two brief cameos under Matt Bloomfield, but South Korean forward Jin-woo came on in the no.10 position and offered a new kind of threat.

He offered a threat off the ball and it will be exciting to see the 26-year-old have more of an impact on it - he was unfortunately withdrawn after scoring with just under 20 minutes of play under his belt.

Oxford United attacker Jeon Jin-woo (Image: Jason Dawson)

In addition, wing back Ruben Roosken played as a winger.

The Dutchman has played higher up the pitch previously, but he was used as a winger from the start and managed an assist for the first U's goal.

There is some promise there as a winger from Roosken; his physicality could use some work, but he has shown he can be effective higher up the pitch.