Bernd Leno and Aaron Ramsdale summed up the togetherness in the Arsenal squad by sharing a warm embrace after Saturday afternoon's hard-fought victory over Aston Villa.
Bukayo Saka scored the winner in the first half as the Gunners beat Villa 1-0 to return to winning ways after Wednesday's defeat by Liverpool. The result means Arsenal's push for a top-four finish in the Premier League is firmly on track with a four-point advantage and a game in hand over Manchester United in fifth.
There was a blow for the North Londoners ahead of kick-off as Ramsdale was ruled out with a hip injury. The England international has established himself as first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival last summer and he has been one of his side's most important players.
In Ramsdale's absence, Leno was handed his fourth league start of the season and kept a clean sheet, making an important late save to deny Philippe Coutinho's free-kick.
The German was congratulated on his performance by his teammate after the match, showing there is a strong bond between the two shot-stoppers which fans revelled in on social media. Arteta also mentioned the touching gesture in his post-match interview, saying: "He (Ramsdale) wasn't comfortable in the last 50 minutes against Liverpool. He wanted to be here to support Bernd which tells you about a lot of things behind the scenes."
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The mood among Arsenal's goalkeepers appears to be much happier than it was earlier this season when Leno was frustrated about being usurped as No. 1 and even hinted he could leave the Emirates in January.
"There was no clear reason why I was out, but it had nothing to do with my performance," Leno told Sport Bild. "He (Arteta) is the trainer, he decides. Of course, it's difficult for me. Only if nothing changes in my situation by winter would I have to think about things: what option do I have, how can I continue? I'm concentrating on my work in training; I can't commit to anything else at the moment."
Having waited in the wings for an opportunity, Leno is set to continue between the posts as Ramsdale is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.
The 30-year-old joined Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018 for a fee of £22.5million and he has made 125 appearances. Meanwhile, Ramsdale, 23, has played 29 games for the Gunners this season since arriving from Sheffield United for £18.5million, keeping an eye-catching 15 clean sheets in the process.
