Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has compared Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to Peter Schmeichel following his impressive season at the Emirates Stadium.
Ramsdale arrived at Arsenal from relegated Sheffield United in 2021. His signing led to questions from the Gunners fans but he soon secured himself as the club's number one replacing Bernd Leno who eventually left for Fulham.
This season, the England international has kept 13 clean sheets in all competitions. He has also made a string of impressive saves but was at fault on Friday night as Southampton opened the scoring earlier in a 3-3 draw.
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Despite this setback, DC United manager Rooney remains a big fan of Ramsdale and sees some similarities between him and Schmeichel. "I’m a big fan of Aaron Ramsdale," Rooney wrote in his Times column.
"Despite his slip-up against Southampton, he has made a number of fantastic saves and played with huge presence. Normally, with goalkeepers, you want them to have character and presence but you want them to have calmness as well.
"If you’re going to be as vocal and extrovert as Ramsdale, you have to back it up with your performances, because otherwise it all looks a bit cocky. Well, he does and he reminds me of Peter Schmeichel.
"Obviously, Ramsdale has to keep improving to get near Schmeichel’s levels but the whole package makes him the closest thing I’ve seen for a long time to the 'Great Dane'.
"He won’t be fazed by Erling Haaland and Mikel Arteta will want his defenders to play without fear against the Norwegian too, maybe even have little nibbles at him to wind him up, for Haaland does have a bit of an edge and you might just provoke a reaction." Schmeichel enjoyed a brilliant career at Old Trafford between 1991 and 1999.
In 386 appearances, Schmeichel kept a whopping 174 clean sheets. The 59-year-old won five Premier Leagues, a Champions League, three FA Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and League Cup during his spell in the red half of Manchester.
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