Aaron Ramsdale provides Arsenal dressing room’s honest reaction to drawing with Liverpool
Aaron Ramsdale admitted to having conflicting emotions after Arsenal blew a two-goal lead against Liverpool at Anfield, opening the door for Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.
Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus scored early goals to give the Gunners a commanding 2-0 advantage in Sunday’s pivotal match. Mohamed Salah cut the deficit in half just before halftime, setting up a frantic second half.
Salah had the opportunity to restore parity with a penalty kick in the 54th minute, but he missed the goal with Ramsdale rooted to the spot.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, their reprieve was short-lived: Jurgen Klopp introduced Roberto Firmino off the bench to score an equalizer, and the Brazilian striker duly delivered, nodding in Trent Alexander-pinpoint Arnold’s cross at the far post with just minutes remaining to tie the game.
In the dying moments of the match, Ramsdale made two spectacular saves to deny Salah from range and Ibrahima Konate from point-blank range, preventing the Reds from completing a remarkable comeback.
Even after his late heroics, the former Bournemouth star was unsatisfied, stating that the Gunners would not know whether Sunday’s result was a point gained or two points lost in the title race.
The Arsenal shot-stopper told Sky Sports: “A bit of both. We managed to dig in at the end but we had some good chances when we come to Anfield and played it really well, but had to survive as well so I think right now it will be mixed emotions.
“Over the next few days it’ll definitely be a very good point. Maybe [it was points dropped], but I’ve just walked off the pitch and we’ve just been under pressure for 35 minutes, whatever it was, and we’ve managed to get a point away at Anfield.
“They’re a top side, the crowd get right behind them so it might be two points dropped but we could have dropped one more at the same time.”
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was full of praise for Ramsdale after the match, admitting that the Gunners star “saved us”. He told the BBC: “It was a crazy game. We started really good. The first 40 minutes before they scored we controlled the game. After their goal the game changed a bit and we didn’t manage to keep the ball.
“They created a lot of chances. Aaron [Ramsdale] was very good back there and saved us. Frustrated not to win but we have to take the point and move on.
“Against this team you need to be very good on the ball. If you give away the ball they will run at you and the fans create momentum.”
Aaron Ramsdale provides Arsenal dressing room’s honest reaction to drawing with Liverpool