Ian Wright lavished praise on the “magnificent” Aaron Ramsdale following his spectacular performance in Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Leicester City on Saturday.
The English goalkeeper has been settling well into life at The Emirates since his move to the north London club from Sheffield United in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal’s decision to pay around £30m to bring the 23-year-old to the north London club in the summer raised some eyebrows but the goalkeeper has firmly established himself as the club’s number one between the posts with some excellent performances.
Ramsdale has started seven of Arsenal’s 10 games in the Premier League this season and was named as the man of the match as the Gunners claimed an impressive victory away at the King Power Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
The shot-stopper produced a spectacular save to stop James Madison’s free-kick just before half-time and continued his fine display in the second half.
First-half goals from Gabriel and Emile Smith Rowe ended up deciding the game as Arsenal climbed the Premier League table with their third top-flight win in five.
Former Arsenal star Wright was delighted to see Ramsdale answering some of his critics with a superb performance at the King Power Stadium.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Wright said: “We’re talking about someone that was ridiculed.
“Arsenal were ridiculed for paying the money for him just because he’s a 23-year-old goalkeeper who has had two seasons in the Premier League. I think it’s stood him in good stead.
“His distribution is absolutely fantastic. The confidence he’s brought to this dressing room and [Alexandre] Lacazette as well. I love when Lacazette is playing because you know you’ve got a goalkeeper who can hit him. Just magnificent.”
Ramsdale will be expecting to start when Arsenal host Watford in the Premier League at The Emirates on Sunday.
His manager Mikel Arteta was delighted by the goalkeeper’s performance. “When you want to win games consecutively, you need big individual performances,” said Arteta.
“You can win in different ways but it’s for sure that your goalkeeper has to stand out because the opponent has the quality to create chances against you. In big moments today, I think he was superb.