Aaron Ramsdale was thankful that his late heroics in Sunday's pulsating 2-2 draw against Liverpool helped to preserve what could be a crucial point for Arsenal in their quest for a first Premier League title since 2004.
The Gunners' goalkeeper produced three incredible saves, denying Darwin Nunez one-on-one before making two sensational stops in stoppage time, tipping Mohamed Salah’s deflected shot away for a corner and then scrambling across his goalline a minute later to prevent Ibrahima Konate from netting the winner.
SuperRam to the rescue 🦸 pic.twitter.com/j27wbNDbxP
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 10, 2023
“I think right now it’s mixed emotions, but I think over the next few days [we will realise] it’s a very good point," Ramsdale said after the match.
“It’s what I’m there to do, I’ve enjoyed playing today, there’s no better games to be playing in than these which means so much for both teams.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get the three points, but at least my saves have helped us out.
“One point is better a lot better than none, and it’s another point on the board and we will see where we go from there.”
A crucial stop from our number one late on 🧤 pic.twitter.com/OqCoTPSVuw
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 10, 2023
The league leaders could have gone eight points clear of Manchester City but are now only six ahead, having played one match more.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +61 | 89 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +45 | 84 |
Arsenal legends Tony Adams and Ray Parlour also praised the England shot-stopper, with the former saying that he helped the Gunners claim a point.
“Magnificent, absolutely magnificent,” Adams said. “The saves he made were incredible, especially the one in the top-right corner [from Salah], phenomenal, the one-on-one was brilliant [from Nunez].
“He’s got us a point today, I think it’s a point gained.
“Liverpool upped their game in the last 30 minutes, there’s not many teams in the world that can sustain that amount of pressure with the Anfield roar behind you, that was hard going but the goalkeeper was brilliant for us today.”
Parlour, meanwhile, stressed the importance of a top goalkeeper to any title-winning side.
“When that second goal went in, I thought that’s it, we’re going to lose the game now,” Parlour said.
“But as Tony says, Ramsdale was superb, absolutely brilliant.
“And you always need a good goalkeeper if you’ve got any chance of winning the league.”