Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken about the extent of Aaron Ramsdale's injury after he was left out of the matchday squad to face Aston Villa on Saturday.
The England international has enjoyed a stellar season for the Gunners, registering an impressive 12 clean sheets in just 24 Premier League outings. However, he was replaced by Bernd Leno in the starting line-up to face Villa, with the club confirming that he was suffering from a hip problem.
Now, Arteta has confirmed that the former Sheffield United goalkeeper will be out for 'a few weeks', a major blow to the north Londoners' top-four push. Speaking about Ramsdale ahead of the match at Villa Park, the Spaniard said: “He has an injury in his oblique muscle and he will be out for a few weeks."
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Arsenal legend Martin Keown backed the aforementioned Leno to perform well in the 23-year-old's absence. “It is a loss", he told BT Sport.
"It’s not just the back four – people used to talk about our back four and David Seaman was quite magnificent – so you link that together. He’s a real character but I do feel as though he [Bernd Leno] has the pedigree to come in today.
"We’ve seen him play in the League Cup and the FA Cup and he’s performed much better and he has a point to prove. He was the No 1 goalkeeper and a lot of money was spent to replace him so he should have the character to deal with this today.”
The Gunners were also without Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli for the trip to the West Midlands due to illness and Arteta provided an update on the 20-year-old before kick-off. The former Manchester City assistant coach added: “He’s been sick for the last few days so he’s out of the squad, unfortunately.”
