They may be competing for minutes under Mikel Arteta but that didn’t stop Aaron Ramsdale from showing his support to Arsenal team-mate Bernd Leno on Sunday.
Since arriving in a £30million move from Sheffield United, Ramsdale has ousted Leno as Arteta’s No 1 goalkeeper, leaving the German to make sporadic appearances in cup competitions as a result.
It would be fair to expect that love was lost between the two but for Ramsdale, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case.
Aarom Ramsdale (left) shouts words of encouragement to Bernd Leno (right) on Sunday
During Arsenal’s FA Cup third round clash with Nottingham Forest, Ramsdale was spotted shouting words of encouragement to his team-mate from the bench, as Leno pulled off a number of fine saves to keep the Gunners in the tie.
However, despite Leno’s solid performance, Arsenal offered nothing going forward and a late Lewis Grabban goal saw Arteta’s Premier League side dumped out of the competition.
While little positives could be taken from the result, Ramsdale’s attitude has made it easy to see why he’s become such a fan favourite in such a short space of time.
Leno pulled off a number of fine saves to keep Arsenal in it before conceding late on
Forest substitute Lewis Grabban (left) scored the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute
The 23-year-old has even been tipped to become Arsenal’s new captain after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of armband last month due to disciplinary issues.
And while his goalkeepers have been performing, Arteta was more than unhappy with his players’ performance at the City Ground, accusing them of lacking hunger.
Embarrassingly, Arsenal did not manage a shot on target all night and afterwards Arteta could not hide his frustration.
The Spaniard said: ‘We needed more drive and hunger to win at any cost. We needed much more. I am really disappointed with the performance.
Ramsdale (left) has ousted Leno (right) to become Arsenal’s No 1 since arriving this summer
‘Not with the attitude, but how much purpose we have and what determination we showed to change the game when it’s difficult. It is frustrating but it happened and we have to analyse why.
‘I have been playing games like this one for 18 years and it is no surprise the difficulties you are going to face. It is really hurting now. It is a competition that is embedded in our history and to get out of it today is a big pain.
‘We didn’t have enough incisiveness and determination and purpose to move the ball with enough quality. And when we had the chances we didn’t hit the target.’