Aaron Ramsdale says Arsenal now know they are capable of “winning ugly”, after yesterday’s 1-0 win at Leeds moved them four points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka’s goal sealed a scrappy and fortuitous victory at Elland Road, where Arsenal survived a second-half onslaught, with Patrick Bamford missing a penalty and Ramsdale twice saving one-on-ones from the striker.
The result extended the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table after Manchester City lost 1-0 at Liverpool, and Ramsdale says Mikel Arteta’s team can take confidence from the manner of their victory, despite putting in their poorest performance of the campaign.
“It’s the worst we’ve played and collectively we’ve managed to come away with three points and a clean sheet,” said the England keeper. “We’re a bit shocked at how bad we were on the ball, but collectively, from front to the back, we added another level in terms of defending and grinding out a result.
“We want to play our way and control games, but sometimes you just can’t. For us to get through this game and get three points and a clean sheet away from home is massive. Sometimes you have to win ugly, a smash and grab after not many chances on goal.
“We don’t want to do this every week. We want to be winning with nice football, but to know we can do that, it’s now in the back of our heads that we can do it and [to] do it at a place like Leeds, it gives us confidence.”
Arsenal barely got out of their half after the interval in a performance in stark contrast to the previous weekend’s pulsating 3-2 win over Liverpool.
Ramsdale added: “They’re polar opposites in terms of performances, but in the end it’s the same result. It’s that balance. You have to be able to do this. We’re still developing and learning as well. We’re in a great position but we’re not the finished article, so we’re not going to come everywhere and out-pass every team and win every second ball. Sometimes you have to grit your teeth and that’s we did.”
The match was paused after less than a minute due to a power cut and the action did not resume until over half-an-hour later, with the players returning to the dressing rooms while the match’s electronic systems, including goal-line technology and VAR, were rebooted.
Ramsdale says the delay was tough to manage but credited the meticulous planning of manager Arteta for preparing the squad for every scenario.
Asked why Arsenal found it so difficult to play their way, he said: “Leeds’ good press. The break at the start of the game maybe.
“They definitely started better than us after the break. We’ve started so well all season in the first 15 or 20 minutes, obviously we couldn’t do that. We’ve got to give credit to them, they played well and on another day they probably beat us 2-1 or 3-1.
“For me, [the delay] was difficult. As you can probably tell on the pitch, I’m not the type of person who can sit still.
“You don’t want to do too much in that little warm-up period, you don’t want to overdo things, as you’re already warmed up a little bit. So it was as a circumstance which we’ve not encountered. I don’t think many people have. But we spoke before the game about winning in any context and I think to have that thrown in your face after a minute, it’s almost like the boss knew what he was talking about.
“He plans for everything. To the finest detail, he plans things — different formations, how they play, how we play. We know how to do it. We haven’t had to do it this season, which has been good for us because it means we’ve been in control of games. But to do it, especially here, a really tough place to come and win, is a credit to his staff to get us in a position to win it. But we did it, the 13 or 14 of us on the pitch.”
