Ramsdale who was signed last summer from Sheffield United has been a standout performer for the Gunners since taking over from Leno
By Kehinde Okeowo
Arsenal strengthened their grip on 4th place in the Premier League after beating Aston Villa, but they had to win without their first-choice goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, who was ruled out because of a hip injury.
Mikel Arteta later revealed that 23-year-old Ramsdale made the trip to Villa Park despite his injury to support his teammate Bernd Leno, who deputised for him in goal during the game.
The former Sheffield United shot-stopper, who was signed last summer for a fee in the region of £30million has been a standout performer for the Gunners since taking over from the German, Leno.
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However, Leno kept a clean sheet and made an excellent save to secure the win for the away side after Bukayo Saka’s first half goal gave Arsenal the lead against Steven Gerrard’s side.
Arteta during his post-match press conference explained why Ramsdale travelled with the team despite being injured.
He also confirmed that the goalkeeper played through injury during the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday.
He said, “He wasn’t comfortable in the last 50 minutes against Liverpool,” said Arteta. “He wanted to be here to support Bernd [Leno] which tells you about a lot of things behind the scenes.”
The Arsenal gaffer who also substituted the match-winner Bukayo Saka with Nicholas Pepe in the second half also said he made the change because he was fatigued.
“He was really fatigued,” Arteta added. “He’s played a lot of minutes. He needs to go with England and the best thing was to take him off.”
Arsenal after the win consolidated their spot in the top four and have won their last five away games despite facing a tricky run-in, as a result, the last Champions League position is theirs to lose.
