Arsenal stars will hold showdown talks after Aston Villa win as Aaron Ramsdale fires warning to players
AARON RAMSDALE has revealed that Arsenal’s stars will hold showdown talks amongst themselves this week despite winning at Aston Villa.
The Gunners are two points clear at the top of the Premier League after claiming a 4-2 win at Villa Park on Saturday.
ReutersSoccer Football – Premier League – Aston Villa v Arsenal – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – February 18, 2023 Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale reacts REUTERS/Hannah Mckay EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in […][/caption]
GettyAaron Ramsdale has issued a warning to his Arsenal team-mates[/caption]
Goalkeeper Ramsdale conceded early on when Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock but Bukayo Saka levelled before Phillipe Coutinho restored the home side’s advantage before the break.
Arsenal bounced back after half time and levelled through Oleksandr Zinchenko but looked to be heading for a frustrating draw until two late strikes in additional time.
Jorginho’s long-ranger rebounded off the crossbar and hit Villa stopper Emi Martinez before going into the net for the third and then Gabriel Martinelli made it four on the counter-attack.
And that hard-fought victory lifted them back above Manchester City, who were held to a draw at Nottingham Forest, into top spot.
However, England international Ramsdale, 24, says that Mikel Arteta’s squad will be having words with each other ahead of this weekend’s trip to Leicester City.
He said: “We are obviously delighted we’ve got the points and four goals, but lots of things to improve on.
“It was a classic for us for the wrong reasons. Take out the first 45 minutes where we didn’t perform to an Arsenal team or a team that is fighting for a league title.
“The second-half we can be so proud of. The way we played, the way we raised our levels, scored goals, competed.
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“For an overall game it was a great game, but for us in the first 45 minutes we had lots to improve on.
“Of course, we are very happy to go back down the road with three points.”
Ramsdale added: “For me, it’s probably one of the worst ways we can win because we pride ourselves on defending, keeping clean sheets and that’s from the No9 to the No1, and the staff.
“Of course, it’s an amazing feeling now we are in the dressing room but there will be some truths spoke in the week about how we can improve and what we need to do better in the coming weeks.
“In different games, if we don’t show that level of performance in the second-half, a 2-0 or 2-1 head start for the opposition team could mean no way back. We don’t want to be giving teams head starts.”
