Magnificent Aaron Ramsdale display for Arsenal against Leicester the result of a stroke of genius in signing the goalkeeper for £24m. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Arsenal have deservedly received criticism down the years for their transfer activity. Players have been brought in on fees far above their worth just the sales of assets have been shunned at their highest market price.
The decision to spend £24m, rising to £30m, on Aaron Ramsdale was one such deal. A goalkeeper who had statistically been questionable, and whose style was felt more akin to that of a Burnley than an Arsenal, joining the club to play second fiddle.
He is the entire orchestra.
Since usurping Bernd Leno in the starting lineup after the first international break he has been nothing short of exceptional. Otherworldly. Nobody could have foretold this.
Magnificent Aaron Ramsdale display for Arsenal against Leicester the result of a stroke of genius in signing the goalkeeper for £24m
Except, that is, for Ramsdale himself and the team behind his acquisition. Arsenal have’t overpaid for the 23-year-old, they’ve underpaid. This is a man heading right for the top and straight into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup starting lineup. He is everything you could want in a goalkeeper.
Against Leicester his diverse and varied range of pass stood out in a brilliant opening 40 minutes. An ability to cut through the ball or chip it accurately beyond the first line of press, his multi-functional style had become a vital cog in the Mikel Arteta machine.
And all of that distribution was neatly put to one side as the other, quite important, aspect of goalkeeping took centre stage: his remarkable reflexes and shot stopping. Firstly denying Kelechi Iheanacho with a flying fingertip stop after what was his only poor kick of the match, he followed that up with one of the saves of the Premier League era, let alone this season.
Brendan Rodgers had already started celebrating. James Maddison’s lovely free-kick looked destined to nestle into the top corner only for Ramsdale’s soaring hand to expertly tip it onto the crossbar, before he recovered his position to tip Jonny Evans’ effort onto the inside of the post.
In the second half he combined both elements of his game in equal measure, with frightening composure under pressure met with further top class stops. Clearly relishing in the moment, he even found time to give some back to the crowd who were jeering him.
This is someone who is aggressively engaged, always barking orders and is as involved in the game when it is at the opposite end as he is when the ball is at his feet.
A career arc that has spanned seven Premier League matches, never has anyone been as happy to be have been wrong. All those who doubted his signing (so guilty) can wallow in their foolishness.
Continued on next page…
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<p>— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1454440955415875586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 30, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Magnificent Aaron Ramsdale display for Arsenal against Leicester the result of a stroke of genius in signing the goalkeeper for £24m</h2>
<p>Except, that is, for Ramsdale himself and the team behind his acquisition. Arsenal have’t overpaid for the 23-year-old, they’ve underpaid. This is a man heading right for the top and straight into <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/09/arsenal-ramsdale-england-andorra-blow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gareth Southgate’s World Cup starting lineup</a>. He is everything you could want in a goalkeeper.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/29/leicester-massive-chance-arsenal-arteta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Against Leicester</a> his diverse and varied range of pass stood out in a brilliant opening 40 minutes. An ability to cut through the ball or chip it accurately beyond the first line of press, his multi-functional style had become a vital cog in the Mikel Arteta machine.</p>
<p>And all of that distribution was neatly put to one side as the other, quite important, aspect of goalkeeping took centre stage: his remarkable reflexes and shot stopping. Firstly denying Kelechi Iheanacho with a flying fingertip stop after what was his only poor kick of the match, he followed that up with one of the saves of the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> era, let alone this season.</p>
<p>Brendan Rodgers had already started celebrating. James Maddison’s lovely free-kick looked destined to nestle into the top corner only for Ramsdale’s soaring hand to expertly tip it onto the crossbar, before he recovered his position to tip Jonny Evans’ effort onto the inside of the post.</p>
<p>In the second half he combined both elements of his game in equal measure, with frightening composure under pressure met with further top class stops. Clearly relishing in the moment, he even found time to give some back to the crowd who were jeering him.</p>
<p>This is someone who is aggressively engaged, always barking orders and is as involved in the game when it is at the opposite end as he is when the ball is at his feet.</p>
<p>A career arc that has spanned seven Premier League matches, never has anyone been as happy to be have been wrong. All those who doubted his signing (<em>so guilty</em>) can wallow in their foolishness.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> All the credit to Ramsdale </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-120422" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1236222851-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Rambo" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale saves a free kick taken by Leicester City’s English midfielder James Maddison during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Arsenal. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Where the Credit Lies in Aaron Ramsdale Trajectory</h2>
<p>Arsenal’s scouting department has undergone some substantial changes in recent years. It’s all been part of Edu’s masterplan to craft a small and close-knit recruitment team. While it isn’t known exactly who was behind Ramsdale’s signing, they deserve immeasurable credit.</p>
<p>Near enough everyone saw a goalkeeper suffer successive relegations and spend an entire season thumping the ball as far as he could onto David McGoldrick’s head. The scouting department saw a young man with extensive Premier League experience who had the capacity to not only use his feet more, but in a way that could transform the build-up play in a team an reinstate an idea of possession football.</p>
<p>Even in a dreadful Bournemouth side where he was given more freedom to play out from the back there were issues with quality across the squad that made that aspect less noticeable. These scouts saw it and they believed in it. Arteta pushed through with the transfer and the result was what was on show in the east Midlands.</p>
<p>But Ramsdale deserves the most credit of all. He joined to a cacophony of confusion and disbelief, suffering inexplicable messages on his social channels from supposed Arsenal fans ridiculing him before he’s even kicked a ball.</p>
<p>Amid that, having to prove himself ahead of Leno and the adjustments into a back five who’d near enough never played with each other before, what he’s achieving is remarkable.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Player ratings vs Leicester: Ramsdale shines" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/arsenal-player-ratings-leicester-2/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/leicester-arsenal-aaron-ramsdale-genius/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/10/30/arsenal-player-ratings-leicester-2/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Player ratings vs Leicester: Ramsdale shines </a> </div>
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<p>No amount of praise can be heaped onto this 23-year-old as he looks set to be the Arsenal No. 1 goalkeeper for <em>years </em>to come. What a player, what a signing, and what a man. Humility and heroics in equal measure.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
