Arsenal review: Best game, worst game, best moment, worst moment & targets
Best Signing So Far – Aaron Ramsdale
It speaks volumes of Arsenal’s recruitment over the summer that there was serious competition for this from a number of players.
Aaron Ramsdale still comes out on top, but Takehiro Tomiyasu, Sambi Lokonga and Benjamin White have all been brilliant in their own way. For Tomiyasu, the comfort with which he’s settled into his tactical role and performed his duties with an efficiency that often goes overlooked is a credit to his adaptability and commitment to learn.
Sambi has had ups and downs but nobody expected him to be playing the volume of Premier League minutes he has since arriving from Belgium. He’s growing by the day and will be a wonderful footballer for this club.
White, meanwhile, had a rocky start but has come on leaps and bounds, now actually looking like a £50m defender. A Rolls Royce centre-back. Every aspect of his game is solid and he brings his own personal flair with those majestic ball carries out from his own half. Been a rock in defence.
But Ramsdale can’t be overlooked as the best so far. Yet to lose since taking over from Bernd Leno in net after the Man City loss, his otherworldly distribution demonstrates a glorious array of techniques and styles that have been a huge addition to the backline. Clearly a solid shot stopper too, it’s what he’s brought in a vocal sense as well as the bond he’s made with the fans that is arguably his biggest strength.
Indeed, perhaps even more so than his kicking.
He has forged a union with his defenders, commanded his box and got the fans on side. The atmosphere at the Emirates has been spectacular in comparison to previously and Ramsdale has been fundamental in that. A magnificent signing and an even better person.
Continued on next page…