Aaron Ramsdale hails Arsenal's new levels of aggression
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has praised the extra aggression that has contributed to the Gunners topping the Premier League table after four consecutive wins.
Mikel Arteta has been working on a major transformation at Arsenal since he was appointed manager in December 2019. After an improved league finish last season, the continued progress is still being seen with four league wins on the bounce at the start of a campaign for the first time since 2004/05.
It has been 18 years since Arsenal won the Premier League and 14 years since they have properly challenged. During that time, a lack of the kind of competitive bite that characterised the early Arsene Wenger years and the George Graham era is a criticism that has often been made.
Ramsdale has said that aggression felt like it was coming back last season, as though Arsenal were finally ‘standing up’ for themselves.
“There's a lot of different aggression you can show; you can show it in tackles, winning your headers and duels but also pressing,” Ramsdale told Arsenal.com.
“I think we press all the way through the games, not just in spells in the first half and if we don't get a goal, then we sit off. If the game fits going long we will try and adapt, and we're not just going to play one-dimensional.”
On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, Harry Symeou looks back on Arsenal 2-1 Fulham in the Premier League, discussing the highlights and rating the players' individual performances.
That versatility was on show as Arsenal beat Fulham over the weekend, giving Arteta’s team the edge they needed because they were able to change the way they were playing.
“I think [Fulham] allowed us to play because they brought on [Issa] Diop and they had the big boys at the back and [Bernd] Leno was catching crosses for fun, so we focused on short play around the box on and it paid off,” Ramsdale explained.