Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has signed a new long-term contract with the club.
football.london understands that the deal will keep the England international at the Emirates Stadium until 2026, with the club having the option to extend this by a further 12 months. Ramsdale has established himself as one of the most consistent keepers in the Premier League since arriving in north London but he wasn't always so highly rated by the Gunners faithful.
Rewind a little less than 24 months and a large section of the club's fanbase were fairly dismissive of the £30million deal to bring the young shot-stopper to the club. "I don't understand what is Arsenal's obsession with Ramsdale he's so average", one Twitter user wrote at the time.
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But the former Sheffield United man has proven his doubters wrong. Many assumed that he would merely deputise for first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno but just four games into Arsenal's Premier League campaign, the German international had been ousted from Mikel Arteta's starting XI.
That game, a 1-0 victory over Norwich City, showed exactly why he had been signed. Leno is as good a shot-stopper as just about any other goalkeeper in the Premier League but in his weakness lay one of Ramsdale's biggest strengths: distribution. Arteta has consistently emphasised the need to build from the back and to effectively do this, your No.1 keeper needs to be comfortable with the ball at his feet.
"The way I play is I like to mix it up," the 25-year-old said when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium. "I'm very comfortable playing short and playing passes into midfield.
"Hopefully that's something that I can bring to the team. But I'm not afraid of going long."
Of course, like any other No.1, Ramsdale has made mistakes, most notably a high-profile error during last month's 3-3 draw against Southampton. But all in all, he has been a huge net positive to his side.
It is no coincidence that the Gunners have considerably improved in all facets of their game since he came into the team. Arteta's side regularly go short from goal kicks, with Ramsdale releasing it to someone in defence but as he mentioned himself, he is no stranger to looking for a longer option.
During a 4-2 win over Leicester City from August 2022, Ramsdale shows his impressive vision, noticing Gabriel Jesus making a run behind the Foxes' backline. The England international opts to play a lofted through ball to the Arsenal frontman, kicking the ball out of his hands - weighting the flight of the ball perfectly to create a quality chance for the Brazilian, who nearly scores.
Ramsdale's ability to pass makes the Gunners much more press resistant, too. When going short, he doesn't just immediately look for the safe option. He will often try and play a vertical pass, breaking the lines and bypassing the opposition press.
Here, the opposition set a pressing trap to try and bait Arsenal into passing to Rob Holding, who is the weak link in the build-up phase. However, Ramsdale recognised this and goes for the riskier option, a straight line-breaking pass right to Jesus.
Again, a similar instance here during a match with Brentford. The Bees have 'jumped' in their press, cutting off the angles to try and make Ramsdale play it to Thomas Partey, who could easily be dispossessed due to his body shape.
But Ramsdale scans his options and opts to play it to Martinelli instead, bypassing the press.
The 25-year-old has come up clutch on numerous occasions when it comes to making crucial saves too. When Arteta's side defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 back in January, Ramsdale produced several top-quality saves, keeping a clean sheet despite the Lillywhites registering 1.71 xG (expected goals), as per Understat.
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