Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was awarded Man of the Match in the Gunners’ 2-0 victory over Leicester - and the Englishman had a lot to say to the Foxes fans at full-time.
Defender Gabriel opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he leapt the highest to divert a Bukayo Saka corner into the back of the net.
The Gunners then made it 2-0 just 13 minutes later after a swift counter-attack ended with the ball rolling into the path of winger Emile Smith-Rowe, who coolly slotted past Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester almost grabbed a goal before half-time as James Maddison’s free-kick looked destined to nestle into the top corner but Ramsdale pulled off a magnificent save to tip it onto the woodwork.
The former Sheffield United shot-stopper was called into action several times in the second half but pulled off a series of smart stops to secure a clean sheet, and he was clearly ecstatic at full time.
Footage on social media has emerged of Ramsdale goading the Leicester fans behind the goal when the final whistle blew after supporters had given him some stick throughout the game.
The 23-year-old was seen walking towards the fans and banging his chest and grabbing onto the famous Arsenal badge.
He then capped off his celebrations by taking a bow in front of the supporters, a fitting end to what was a mesmerising performance by the goalkeeper.
Speaking after the match, Ramsdale was understandably very pleased with the result, he said: “Superb result away from home, top team Leicester are but we started really well, got two good goals and thankfully it was one of them afternoons where I contributed and we should have had a few more clean sheets recently but we’re very happy with this one.”
The free-kick save in the first half will definitely be one of the most spoken about moments of the weekend, and the form Bournemouth keeper revealed he had prepared for those types of set-pieces before the match.
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Asked about the save, Ramsdale continued: "Madders (Maddison) is a top free-kick taker and I’ve come up against him a couple of times in the league and training with the Under-21s so I was worried that he was going to reverse it and come my side.
“He didn’t put too much pace on it which allowed me to get there but it was just one of them days where it seemed like I was saving everything which was thrown at me and the lads were blocking everything.
"Top day all round."
The win marks Arsenal’s fourth clean sheet of the season which will be music to the ears of manager Mikel Arteta given that four of his five defenders/keepers were signed over the summer.
The Spanish boss spent £149million over the summer to bolster the squad's ranks, which included securing the signatures of Ramsdale, Nuno Tavares, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu who all played against the Foxes.
Arsenal take on Watford next weekend before the short international break, which hands Ramsdale another opportunity to assert himself as a fan’s favourite in front of the Emirates Stadium crowd.
