We need to talk about Aaron Ramsdale

If you ask any Arsenal fan who our best five players have been this season, a lot of the same names will come up – Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, Saliba, Zinchenko. It is now time however that we shine the light on an unsung hero, and the chances are that it is someone you have never thought to put in your top five.

We need to talk about Aaron Ramsdale. I didn’t want to write a post today because it tore me apart seeing the disparity between our first 30 minutes and the rest of the game at Anfield, but it is well overdue that we give Ramsdale his flowers.

Let’s call it how it is – we deserved to lose against Liverpool, entirely based on that second half. Liverpool were relentless, creating so many chances on goal. Even after Salah put his penalty wide, Liverpool did not falter in their attacking intensity.

So what was the difference between a harsh 2-2 draw and a crushing 3-2 or 4-2 defeat? You might say its Arteta waiting until nearly the 80th minute to bring on subs when the team were clearly knacked, you might say it was Martinelli overhitting that pass to Saka in the 95th minute, but you simply cannot leave out Aaron Ramsdale’s performance.

The Gunners have struggled to keep a clean sheet recently, despite running over the teams that they have played. It could’ve been 3-2 against Villa, but Ramsdale tipped Bailey’s shot onto the bar. It could’ve been 2-0 to Bournemouth before the clock had hit 20 minutes, but Ramsdale smothered the square ball to deny a certain goal. In almost identical fashion, Arsenal’s GK1 showed why he is priceless to this team.

A back post header that was squared to a Liverpool defender on the edge of the six yard box? Saved. Salah’s deflected shot that was destined for the back of the net after a deflection? Miraculously tipped wide after a mid-air adjustment. Konate at the back post with the goal at his mercy to sink our title hopes by making it 3-2? Impossibly parried off the goal line.

What I’m trying to say is this – even though Arsenal have been struggling to keep a clean sheet at times, Aaron Ramsdale and his game-defying saves have been just as crucial to this title charge as Nketiah’s 90th minute winner against Manchester United or Reiss Nelson’s 97th minute screamer.