Aaron Ramsdale reveals what Mikel Arteta did to inspire Arsenal at Newcastle
Aaron Ramsdale disclosed that Mikel Arteta utilized a segment from Arsenal’s Amazon documentary during a team meeting to motivate them to win against Newcastle.
The Gunners put up a strong fight and triumphed 2-0 on Sunday (May 7). This victory not only kept their chances of winning the title alive, but also enabled them to overcome some of the difficulties they faced a year ago when they suffered a 2-0 loss at St James’ Park, which practically ended their hopes of playing in the Champions League.
During that time, they were being recorded by Amazon’s cameras for their documentary “All or Nothing,” which was released in August. Therefore, Arteta employed that footage in his pre-game talk to help prevent a repeat of the previous outcome.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Ramsdale began: “Immense pride and bit of relief as well, especially with the talk of what happened last year, to come here and put on a performance. We wanted to impose ourselves onto the game and the crowd.”
Host David Jones then asked how much last year’s game had impacted the pre-match planning, with Ramsdale replying: “It wasn’t mentioned until the meeting just before we left the hotel.
“The manager showed us a clip from the documentary last year, showed all of our faces, staff included, showing how hurt we were feeling.
“We had that burning desire as soon as we left the hotel that it wasn’t going to be the same today. It may have given us extra motivation. When we needed to dig deep, it really helped us.”
Newcastle began the match strongly and Arsenal had to withstand an initial period of pressure. In the opening minute, Newcastle hit the post and they were also awarded a penalty, which was subsequently overturned by VAR.
However, Arsenal managed to take the lead through a Martin Odegaard goal, which was scored from outside the box. Later in the game, a Fabian Schar own-goal further strengthened Arsenal’s position and put them in control of the match.
Aaron Ramsdale reveals what Mikel Arteta did to inspire Arsenal at Newcastle