Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal: Match Statistics
It was one of those moments that takes your breath away.
When James Maddison’s free-kick drifted over the Arsenal wall four minutes before half-time, it looked absolutely certain to end up in the top corner of the net.
But, with the ball almost fully past him, Aaron Ramsdale somehow stretched out a left hand and clawed it up onto the underside of the crossbar and back into his six-yard yard.
Arsenal’s goalkeeper was then alert enough to spring up and turn Jonny Evans' follow-up onto the post before Thomas Partey scrambled the ball away.
It was a truly remarkable double-save from the Gunners’ £24 million ($33m) summer signing from Sheffield United.
“Best save I’ve seen for years,” Peter Schmeichel tweeted. The Manchester United legend wasn’t wrong! Ramsdale’s save wasn't only miraculous either; it was also crucial.
Arsenal had enjoyed a fabulous first half at the King Power Stadium, with early goals from Gabriel and Emile Smith Rowe seeing them race into an early two-goal lead.
It was an advantage they thoroughly deserved and one they ultimately held on to to make it nine games unbeaten in all competitions – their best run since February 2020, when they went 10 games without defeat.
However, had Maddison’s free-kick found the back of the net just before the break, what proved to be an incredibly tough second half for Mikel Arteta’s side would have been even more difficult.
It was a huge moment and one that summed up Ramsdale’s start to life at Arsenal.
Best save I’ve seen for years by Ramsdale👏👏👏
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) October 30, 2021
There were plenty of eyebrows raised when the Gunners chose to bring him in from Sheffield United for such a lofty fee, but the 23-year-old has been nothing short of sensational during his first three months in north London.
In that short space of time, he’s already wrestled the No.1 spot away from Bernd Leno and firmly established himself as the Arsenal fans’ new hero.
Ramsdale has now made eight appearances for his new club and he has still to taste defeat. In that time, he has faced 28 shots and saved 24 of them (85.7 per cent). Only Edouard Mendy has a higher save percentage (85.7%) during that same period.
Ramsdale has now kept five clean sheets, too, and none were more impressive than the one he produced at Leicester.
He made eight saves during the 90 minutes as Arsenal made it seven wins from their last nine games in all competitions to move up to fifth in the Premier ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.
It was no wonder he was serenaded off the pitch at full-time by the 3,000 travelling supporters at the King Power Stadium.
This was a huge win for Arsenal, whose improvement since the start of the season continues at pace. The dark days during the opening fortnight of the season now feel like a long time ago.
Arteta’s side now look solid, disciplined and are now starting to score goals. They certainly started the game like a side that hadn’t tasted defeat since the end of August.
Bukayo Saka, making his 100th senior appearance for the Gunners, was on it from the start and almost forced Evans into an own goal inside the first minute.
And their early endeavour was rewarded just six minutes in when Saka’s corner picked out the onrushing Gabriel, who glanced a fabulous header past Kasper Schmeichel.
It was no more than Arsenal deserved and things got even better on 18 minutes when Saka and Alexandre Lacazette combined to tee up Smith Rowe, who showed excellent composure to double the visitors’ lead.
Arsenal’s young playmaker has now scored four times in his last seven appearances and is more than answering Arteta’s calls for him to start adding more goals to his game.
Leicester dominated from that moment on but Gabriel and Ben White were exceptional once again. And even when the centre-backs were breached, they found Ramsdale in inspired form.
While the save from Maddison’s free-kick was the best of the bunch, his stop to deny Harvey Barnes soon after half-time was just as important.
Had Leicester pulled a goal back at the point, you would have feared for Arsenal. But instead they saw out the game to secure a statement win at one of the sides they are looking to leap above this season.
Arteta’s in-form side are on the up and in Ramsdale they have a goalkeeper performing at the very top of his game.
