Aaron Ramsdale has revealed that Mikel Arteta called a players’ meeting after Arsenal's 3-0 defeat against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium - to tell them this season has still been a success. The Gunners held an eight-point lead at the top of the table heading into April but now sit four points behind Manchester City, having played a game more than the reigning champions.
City can claim their fifth Premier League title in six years with a win against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Pep Guardiola aimed a sly dig at Arsenal's mentality as his team chase down a historic treble - that would match Manchester United's achievement in the 1998/99 campaign.
Ramsdale hit back at criticism suggesting the Gunners had 'bottled' the title this season and remains excited about his future at the Emirates Stadium. The English goalkeeper recently committed his long-term future to the north London outfit, signing a deal until 2026, with the club having the option to extend this by a further 12 months.
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Ramsdale revealed Arteta challenged the Gunners to win their last two games and not be downhearted after their recent setbacks. The 25-year-old said: "We did a different style of meeting of just remembering how far we’ve come.
"He put on the board about how we can still have the most amount of wins by an Arsenal team in the Premier League ever. And about how, again, it’s very disappointing at the minute, but how progressive the season has been, how positive we can be, but it’s all about the last 12 days.
"It’s not about switching off, pressing the self-destruct button, it’s about going into the next 12 days as if it was the first 12 days of the season with two wins to go and grab. He knows what we’re trying to do, sometimes we don’t deliver it as best we can but he will always put the positive spin on it at the end of the meeting to make us walk out and remember the last little bit.
"Remember what we do," he added as Ramsdale looked ahead to an exciting future at the Emirates Stadium. "That’s the aim [long-term success].
"I don’t want to move around anymore. It’s very hard as a footballer to try and stay in one place for a long time, it’s very hard as a footballer to try and create a home and create a home where you can have a family.
"I don’t want to move anymore, I want to see out my football here and if that’s the case then that’s brilliant. Obviously things change in football really quickly but I want to be a mainstay at this football club and do things special, win trophies and see what this team can do, because hopefully we can stay together for a number of years.
“I think the size of the club, the passion the fans have, they’ve had a tough time of it in the past and could have quite easily changed, but they’ve changed with us as a team in the past two years, they’ve seen the transition, they’ve stuck with us.
"I love the area, I love the people at the football club, and ultimately I want to be fighting for trophies and winning things. I think if we can get this football club in a position to do that, there’s not many teams bigger in the league.”
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