Summary: Liverpool - Arsenal 2:2 (Sport1)
Arsenal was very close to losing at Anfield yesterday (Sunday).
After running through Liverpool's terrible defense in the first half, they collapsed themselves in the face of the hosts' immense pressure, allowing them to get many chances to complete a turnaround.
Fiasco might not have taken her off the top, but the morale blow could have been strong, and it was no coincidence that goalkeeper Aron Ramsdale emphasized after the final whistle that heralded a 2:2 draw: "This is a point we earned in the championship fight."
It was Ramsdale who got the Gunners that point.
He displayed phenomenal ability throughout the match, including causing Darwin Nunes to miss a goal as Uruguay raced past him, culminating in two world-class saves in injury time.
The blond star arrived with the tips of his fingers in an acrobatic leap to Mohamed Salah's kick that made its way to the far corner, and in a few moments he also somehow deflected the attempt of Ibrahima Konata who was supposed to push the ball in from zero range.
It was a heroic display, and it put Ramsdale in the spotlight - a status he has long deserved.
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Bokaio Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odgor, Granit Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko regularly make the headlines, but if Arsenal's remarkable run ends in a sensational title, Ramsdale's stake in the achievement will be no less than that of the midfielders and strikers.
He not only excels between the posts, but also radiates leadership, especially when it is needed most like yesterday.
While other players may lose concentration and stress, Ramsdale always keeps his cool - a critical quality in close battles at the top.
Now it was his turn to receive the praise, and Jamie Carragher was one of the greeters.
The commentator, who harshly criticized the signing of Ramsdale in the summer of 2021, stated: "I have never been more wrong in my assessment."
And he really wasn't the only one.
Many Gunners fans expressed real outrage on social media when the club paid Sheffield United £24 million for a goalkeeper who was involved in relegation and was defined on paper as Bernd Leno's back-up. There is a culture of negativity and pessimism in the Arsenal stands after years of disappointment, and Ramsdale could have fallen victim To the antagonism towards him for not wronging him even before he touched the ball.
It didn't happen - both because it's really not his character, and because he already had a similar experience a year before.
Even when Sheffield United paid Bournemouth £18m to bring home their academy graduate, the reaction was not flattering to say the least. Chances Fans were disappointed that the Manchester United goalkeeper chose to return to Old Trafford rather than extend his loan spell, and his successor was not seen as an equivalent replacement.
In the same transfer window, another expensive acquisition player, Ryan Brewster from Liverpool, also arrived, which was immediately defined as a flop while Sheffield United sank to the bottom.
Ramsdale also received the same label at the beginning of his career, and survived weeks that were not easy at all.
However, even if the team remained in last place in a shocking season in most respects, the goalkeeper himself finished it with a reputation in the sky and was chosen as the outstanding player of the club.
He was relegated again, as in the previous season with Bournemouth in 2019, which was quite traumatic, but the young goalkeeper has shown extraordinary mental fortitude, which is exactly what Mikel Arteta wanted when looking for his next goalkeeper.
An unusual journey to the top.
Ramsdale in Wimbledon AFC uniform (Photo: GettyImages, Alex Burstow)
For us he is a good goalkeeper, but quiet and without charisma.
Ramsdale makes his voice far and wide in training and matches, and it was especially easy for Arsenal people to notice this when the stands were deserted during the Corona period.
He screamed at everyone, gave instructions and instilled motivation in his teammates since the days when he was loaned from Bournemouth to Wimbledon in the fourth division.
He has a huge presence in the box despite being only 188 centimeters tall, he has good command of high balls and is very quick at coming out at opposition players to close an angle in one-on-one situations.
In addition, he is gifted with fine footwork, including accurate long passes - a trait that Arteta, as Pep Guardiola's former partner, particularly appreciates.
That's why the commentators who predicted Ramsdale a place on the bench in North London were wrong.
Arteta immediately threw him into the lineup, and the youngster never looked back.
Leno didn't see grass again, and last summer he was sold to Fulham to get back into business - and he's having a good season.
In the meantime, Ramsdale has silenced all the skeptics, and lately there is already a completely different campaign.
The Gunners fans, who were ready to slander him in advance, want to see him today between the beams of the team, and do not really understand why the national coach Gareth Southgate continues to prefer Jordan Pickford.
Ramsdale is only 24 years old, so he has time to wait - and there is also patience.
Meanwhile, he has already watched from the sidelines in two major tournaments, and that's not a bad experience at this stage of his career either.
He was added to the squad for Euro 2020 at the last minute in place of Henderson who was injured, and was quick to comfort the man he replaced at Sheffield United, because sportsmanship was and remains above all for him.
He went to the World Cup as a third goalkeeper, even though Arteta claimed back in September: "He deserves to be in the team, and he has proven it over time."
The goalkeeper hasn't voiced any public disappointment when it hasn't, and generally takes life easy.
Despite being addicted to football, including watching many broadcasts on TV, he remembers that it is not the most important thing in the world.
At this rate, even Southgate will not be able to ignore.
Ramsdale (Photo: GettyImages, Shaun Botterill)
Perhaps this is due to the fact that Ramsdale grew up as a West Bromwich Albion fan, dipped into the lower leagues on loan early in his playing career, and then played for two distinctly bottom teams.
A combination of native winemaking with experiences as a constant underdog created a determined goalkeeper on the one hand and very calm on the other.
Before signing him, Arteta watched the errors and goals conceded by Ramsdale, and was very impressed by his reactions.
Mistakes did not affect his concentration, and he continued to play as if nothing had happened.
This attitude is quite unusual for young goalkeepers, and he demonstrates it at Arsenal as well.
"He's got a bit of a weird mentality because he plays like he doesn't care about anything. Nothing throws him off balance, and nothing bothers him. He's going to be a serious monster," veteran goalkeeper Ben Foster said shortly after Ramsdale signed for Arsenal.
Unlike Krager, he was absolutely right.
Therefore, in the midst of a hot championship fight, he broadcasts business as usual.
"It's a much more fun pressure than the pressure of survival battles. Most of us are inexperienced with it, so we have to take it easy and enjoy ourselves. For me, I want to go up to every game as if we are a mid-table team and live the moment. We will try to win as much as possible, and see where it goes will lead us," Ramsdale said a month ago.
Since then the Gunners just kept winning - until yesterday, but the point in Liverpool was also precious.
"He was tremendous," Jurgen Klopp admitted.
And Arsenal will need him in the coming weeks, especially in the game of the season against Manchester City in just over two weeks.
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