GUNNER SOARERS
Gabriel’s the apex predator ...but only ‘incredible’ Ramsdale stops points going extinct
AARON RAMSDALE, the Potteries boy, refused to crack and proved that he could be Mikel Arteta’s £30million bargain of the season.
The Gunners goalkeeper made three superb saves, including one that Peter Schmeichel described on Twitter as the best he’s seen for years – all as the great Dane’s son Kasper looked on enviously from the other end.
Schmeichel-the-younger had already been beaten twice – by Gabriel (right) and Emile Smith Rowe – by the time opposite number Ramsdale took centre stage.
The 23-year-old Gunner also showed a streak of intimidation and defiance that Schmeichel Snr would have been proud of, as he squared up and mouthed off to big Jonny Evans after the Foxes defender had tried to kick a chunk out of him.
Some Arsenal fans were a bit sniffy about Ramsdale when
Arteta signed him in
August – as if shopping for players at Sheffield United was embarrassingly unfashionable.
Since then, he has kept four clean sheets in seven Premier League games, conceded only four times, and has yet to finish on the losing side.
No wonder there was a scramble among the away fans when
Ramsdale threw his shirt and gloves into the crowd as Arsenal celebrated.
Reflecting on Ramsdale’s incredible double save from James Maddison’s free-kick and Evans’ follow-up, Arteta admitted: “I don’t know how that happened.
“It was incredible and in that moment of the game it was crucial.
“We invest money in talent and people who we believe can be great for the future of the club. But in football you have to play 50 games a year over maybe 20 years and so Aaron has to continue to do that.”
Arteta’s side have now repaired their awful start to the season to go on a seven-game unbeaten run
that suggests they are capable of threatening the top four.
They cruised into a 2-0 lead and looked streets ahead of Brendan Rodgers’ side, then wobbled as the Foxes responded, before they re-asserted control.
For Leicester, this was a first defeat in six games all told, and Rodgers reflected: “We lacked concentration, we started without aggression and got pinned back.
“If you allow Arsenal to push you back too deep, then you give them a chance to connect their game. You can’t be giving them a two-goal lead, but their keeper did make a brilliant save and then some great blocks.”
Ramsdale wants to be England’s first choice at next year’s World Cup and Arteta added: “When you dream big, anything is possible.”
Arsenal were 2-0 up inside 18 minutes, but it was not a true measure of their chances. They should have scored four.
Their opener in the fifth minute was a goal of impressive efficiency, unless you happen to be the coach responsible for Leicester’s defensive work at set-pieces.
Bukayo Saka’s corner was met with a swivelling of the forehead by
Gabriel and the ball nestled in the far corner.
A surging run by the impressive Nuno Tavares tore Leicester open soon after, then Saka did the same – rampaging down the right, linking with Alexandre Lacazette, enabling Smith Rowe to steer a shot past Schmeichel.
Arsenal got lucky after Maddison’s free-kick was superbly tipped onto the bar by Ramsdale – the keeper blocked the follow up and the ball rolled along the line.
Had it rolled over, the Gunners might well have folded to a late onslaught – but Ramsdale’s defiance set a tone that spread.