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Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale keen to share praise around after clean sheet

Aaron Ramsdale praised his 10 outfield team-mates for contributing to the clean sheet which helped Arsenal see off Leicester on Saturday.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Emile Smith Rowe’s early goals set the Gunners on their way to a 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium but it was the performance of goalkeeper Ramsdale which secured three points.

Plenty of eyebrows were raised as Arsenal spent an initial £24million on the former Sheffield United player but he has impressed since replacing Bernd Leno.

His distribution and ability to start attacks has drawn praise and he also showed his shot-stopping skills against the Foxes, but was quick to share the approval with his team-mates.

“We should have had a clean sheet against Aston Villa,” Ramsdale told Arsenal Media.

“It was one of those where they should have been stopped and I made a point about it after the game.

“It’s a collective – it’s not just down to me and the four lads at the back. It’s for everyone.

“I said that to the attacking lads again and they were excellent. I just felt like we weren’t going to get beaten.

“Even when they had chances, it was me or the lads blocking it, or the strikers closing the ball down.”

A string of second-half stops kept Leicester at bay but it was a stunning save before the interval that caught the eye.

James Maddison’s free-kick looked set for the top corner only for Ramsdale to dive at full stretch and tip the ball onto the post, showing enough wherewithal to scramble back to his feet and keep out Jonny Evans on the rebound.

“It’s just all about reactions,” added Ramsdale.

“I was more worried that he was going to reverse it into my corner but as it was a close free-kick, he sort of had to get it up and over the wall and that gave me a chance.

Aaron Ramsdale gives his shirt to a young fan
Aaron Ramsdale gave his shirt to a young fan (Zac Goodwin/PA)

“He couldn’t really whip it like he normally does. From then on, it’s about explosion. If you get there, you get there and if not, you don’t. I’ll watch it back. It’s just one of those that can go either way.”

Leicester went into the game having won their last four matches across all competitions, having overcome a stuttering start to the campaign.

It was a slow start to the game against Arsenal which ultimately cost the Foxes on Saturday and Harvey Barnes admitted the hosts got what they deserved.

“We went into the game with so much confidence,” he told lcfc.com.

“So to start the game like we did, it’s not like us. We spoke before and said we needed a quick start, and got the opposite of that and gave ourselves a big task and, in the end, they were the better team.

“Aaron Ramsdale made some great saves, so credit to him for that, but for us, we know we’ve got to be better.

“It’s an opportunity missed, and we want to go into every game to pick up three points, so we’ll be disappointed with that.

“The goals we conceded, we need to look at them. They’re disappointing ones. As a whole, on the day, it was a tough task for us and we gave ourselves too much to do.”