Should Arsenal be worried about Aaron Ramsdale?

You don’t win two consecutive Player of the Month awards without merit. Granted, Arsenal fans tend to show some bias towards the new signings, but Aaron Ramsdale was well worth his October and November gongs.

The improvements across the team are attributed to numerous factors: Mikel Arteta has tweaked his system, practice makes perfect, the young stars are adding goal involvements, and so on and so forth. What Ramsdale has infused into this backline features high up on that long list.

Defensively Arsenal have been secure, the communication at cover wide deliveries and set pieces is tighter, and the additional variance in build up brought on by Ramsdale’s outstanding Ederson-esque distribution has made Arsenal faster and less predictable in how they progress the ball.

2022 has seen moments where that level has dropped. The team are still finding consistency, as demonstrated by a 25-point haul from the past 30 available, yet the man in between the sticks hasn’t been the epitome of tranquillity he was in the earlier months. He’s been inconsistent.

Should Arsenal be worried about Aaron Ramsdale? The goalkeeper had his worst performance for the club in the 3-2 win over Watford

Noticeable in patches across the year – although appearing to have improved in the away win over Wolves – is the slow draining of composure. Ramsdale has looked like a third centre-back in possession, and while he obviously lacks the neatness on the ball of an outfield player, he was rarely caught napping and rarely ever missed his desired target.

Watford at Vicarage Road was arguably his weakest performance since joining. Near enough every aspect of his game was lacking. Sometimes it even felt like he was trying too hard to be clever.

He got away with a few. There were a couple of hairy moments in the second half where he gifted Sissoko the ball way out of his own net, and another where his kick down the middle fell neatly onto more Watford feet. The usual aura he transmits hasn’t been prevalent in patches of this calendar year. Ironically, this nervousness has an air of overconfidence about it. Ramsdale could take a leaf out of Kieran Tierney’s book: sometimes kicking out to touch or into Row Z is perfectly acceptable. But he has that confidence, which is excellent to see. He needs it and can harness it.

The circumstances of his arrival have to be taken into account. Nobody is slamming down on the panic button yet. This isn’t some spiralling plunge of form. Of course it isn’t.

Having been involved in relegation scraps for most of his career, he’s now come into an environment where he’s winning more Premier League games than he’s not, is less involved in the play on account of the outfield quality, and is being allowed to express his ability in a way only Bournemouth gave him license to.

For a 23-year-old, in a position where inexperience and age show more than anywhere else, a touch of naivety can creep in. But it’s beneficial that he’s making mistakes that either he or a teammate have been able to recover from. These minor blips will make him a better goalkeeper. He’ll learn.

Arsenal are chasing the Champions League places, which is unknown territory for so many members of the team. Ramsdale isn’t alone in showing some shakiness of late, Gabriel and Tierney haven’t been quite at their best either. Everyone is growing as the season progresses, for the better.

The difference is when you surpass even the wildest expectations, these dips become noticeable. Arsenal shouldn’t be worried about them, however; they should be reassured that they’re not proving costly, and have time to be rectified on the training pitch and in the next game. It’s easier to let errors slide when nothing comes of them.

Ramsdale has nonetheless been outstanding for Arsenal since joining the club, and even among some slightly less assured showings he’s come up with crucial saves and memorable moments of quality on the ball.

These are learning curves on the quest for supremacy, all of which help mould the final outcome, and he’ll be better for them. The drop off is evident, but so is his unquestionable ability, potential and influence. Being the character he is, games like Watford will only make him stronger.