The Good and the Bad of Aaron Ramsdale…

 

Arsenal 2 Brentford 1     
Premier League 
Saturday 9th March 2024  5.30pm    

Oh Aaron. Yesterday was a salient reminder why Mikel Arteta decided last summer he wanted a keeper who was more comfortable with the ball at his feet. It was the Southampton match late last season when Ramsdale presented a goal to the opposition in what finished as a 3-3 draw. Back then, he tried to play a pass to a team-mate which was too easily read and intercepted. With hindsight it was probably the final straw for Arteta who wants every player in his starting eleven to be comfortable, confident and competent with the ball at their feet. Against Brentford almost a year on, he had the option of an easy pass to his right, but elected to play a long clearance out instead. It cannoned off Wissa and looped into the goal. 

 

The keeper pulled off a couple of very decent saves to keep the scores level after the interval, but his colleagues still had to resolve the situation by regaining the lead, and it was a mighty relief when, as the clock ticked down, Kai Havertz continued his recent run of scoring in the Premier League with a strong enough header to beat Flekken in the Brentford goal.

 

One of the consequences of playing Ramsdale was that far more goal kicks were punted up the field – something that is anathema to Arteta. And against Brentford, you could see the difference that playing out from the back would make. The Bees are a strong team in the air, and this was how they created their danger going forward. Deny them the ball, make them defend on the floor and they become easier to contain. That Ramsdale was not confident with his short passing and in turn, his colleagues uncertain about whether the normal gameplan was too risky reduced the Gunners’ ability to establish calming periods of control in the second half. 

 

Of course, any sense of momentum in this game was heavily compromised by the Brentford players’ willingness to go down and persuade the referee not to halt the game. There are three solutions to this. Two involve rule changes. There is certainly an argument for basketball style timing to be introduced, so that we no longer have 90 minute matches but 60 minute ones. At least such acting can then only be used to stop momentum rather than eat the clock. No way was seven minutes injury time a true reflection of what had gone before in the second half but fortunately Arsenal were ahead by that time. The second option is to allow physios onto the pitch – as happens in Rugby Union – a far more dangerous sport – whilst the game continues. If it’s a head injury then the physio has the option of getting the referee to stop the game, but the moment he does that, the injured player has to be subbed. Wouldn’t happen often, you can be sure. The glory of this is that players would simply stop feigning injury for the pure reason there is zero gain and their team are a man light whilst they are getting treated. The third solution is simply this. The referee ignores injured players unless it is an obvious head injury, which is the rule anyway, simply not adhered to. And anyone who requires genuine treatment for a head injury in that scenario should be subbed as policy, otherwise every player that went down would immediately be clutching his head. Such subs would not count as being from the allocated number.

 

As it was, Brentford’s timewasting tactics were in vain, and you might look at it as a useful dry run to prepare for the visit of Porto on Tuesday evening. No doubt they will be doing everything they can to eat the clock, so a stronger ref than the first leg will be required.

 

As for Arsenal, I expressed the view chatting with friends before the game that I felt there were six players that had to remain fit until the end of the season if the Gunners were to land their first title in 20 years. These were Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, Rice, Saliba and Gabriel (after the game, I would add Raya to that list!). Martinelli wasn’t risked due to his foot injury and was badly missed. Trossard is a useful sub, a good impact player, but he doesn’t provide the width and pace of the Brazilian. The home side simply looked less dangerous lacking the outlet that he provides. 

Nevertheless, they won the match as a consequence of a headed goal in each half – both provided by Ben White crosses. The Declan Rice goal after 18 minutes should have been enough to make things more comfortable than they turned out to be, but fortunately, Havertz’s late winner secured the critical three points that takes his club to the top of the table, waiting on developments at Anfield this afternoon. 

 

If Arsenal are to triumph come May, it will be because of their defensive excellence. You have the feeling they will always score at least one, so clean sheets will be the key factor in continuing a phenomenal run. They can go to the Etihad at the end of March feeling more confident than for many a year. They might have to win there to deny City another title, as after facing Liverpool and Arsenal it is difficult to really see any games they would not win. Spurs away? Villa at home? Everything else feels like a foregone conclusion. Arsenal of course would pretty much have to win every game to secure the title, but that’s what title winners do – they go on long runs of victories. So far so good in 2024. Can Arsenal win at Brighton, Wolves, Spurs and Man Utd? They might have to. Home games against Villa and Chelsea are not givens. As for Liverpool’s remaining matches, Man Utd and Villa away are their most challenging fixtures after today. Everything else looks highly winnable. And you can bet that if they kick off Klopp’s final game at Anfield against Wolves needing a win to seal the title, it will be a procession. 

 

So, it may be an uphill task for Arsenal, but it would surely have been too big a mountain to climb if they’d failed to secure three points yesterday. They got away with a gift of a goal to the opposition and at least, if Aaron Ramsdale has played his final game for the club, he can reflect on his two saves in the second half and be mightily relieved about his mistake not costing his team two points. It feels unlikely he’ll get another first team appearance unless he decides to remain as the backup option at the club next season, which given he is a very good keeper, would be a waste of his talents. 

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