'Wise man' Wenger backs Wales for surprise
Aaron Ramsey has revealed his Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels Wales could be Euro 2016 dangermen.
Wales have not played at a major tournament for nearly 60 years but will be spearheaded by Ramsey and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale in France.
They open their Group B campaign against Slovakia in Bordeaux on Saturday before coming up against England and Russia.
"The manager (Wenger) was pleased for me that we qualified," said Ramsey.
"He said we could be pretty dangerous over there so hopefully that proves to be right. He's a wise man."
Ramsey has been the odd man out in the past as Arsenal players head off for summer tournaments.
But this time the 25-year-old midfielder has joined the Emirates exodus, and he revealed the banter has been flying in the Arsenal dressing room with Wales and England set to clash on June 16.
"Normally I'm on holiday now," said Ramsey.
"When the campaign started and we got those couple of wins early on I kept winding the Arsenal boys up saying 'I'll see you in France'.
"The way things were developing it was looking promising. To finally achieve it was great.
"To go in knowing I would actually be playing in the finals.....I can share that experience now with some of the players who've done it.
"I know what it's like with other sports in the country, in the Six Nations the whole nation is there for you.
"I wouldn't say I was jealous of rugby, but I wanted to experience that same buzz they get from the block where that's all people talk about."
Ramsey knows Wales' first objective is to qualify for the last 16 knock-out stage, but cannot help but eye up the England clash in Lens which promises to be a special occasion.
"I think a win - three points - will probably get you through, maybe in third place," said Ramsey.
"But we're determined to go there and not get rolled over.
"We want to make an impression ourselves and show people that we can rise to the occasion.
"A few players and members of staff didn't want England because of all that goes with it, but I was buzzing when their name came out.
"Perhaps because I play with a few of them, the banter came out really quickly.
"I'm excited for it, but the first game is crucial for us.
"We need to get off to a good start and go into that one with full of confidence, because momentum can do a lot for teams."
Much will depend on the Ramsey-Bale combination if Wales are to flourish in France.
The pair provided nine of Wales' 11 goals in qualifying - Bale scoring seven and Ramsey two - and they will be marked men against every opponent they come across.
"I take that kind of responsibility and Gareth will as well," said Ramsey. "That's just part of it.
"It's the whole team though, we work our socks off for each other.
"We give ourselves the best chance of going on and then we have players who can create, finish off moves and put the ball in the back of the net.
"We can be a dangerous team, we are quite tough to break down, and we can hurt teams as well."