Southampton joined the Premier League party, finally, and nobody was in the mood to celebrate more than summer signing Aaron Ramsdale.
Hardly surprising given the keeper’s huge part in Saturday’s neck-saving first league victory of the campaign for the South Coast strugglers and their under-fire boss Russell Martin. The match stats suggest recalled forward Alan Armstrong made the decisive difference against Everton, with a brilliant late strike.
But the truth is Ramsdale, unceremoniously axed by Arsenal 13 months ago before being sold to the top-flight newcomers in August, was way more pivotal. Three fine second-half saves from the England stopper, including one stunner to deny Michael Keane on 74 minutes, laid the foundations for Martin’s hosts to end nine sorry games without a win.
And afterwards Ramsdale, with his first clean sheet in a year, declared: “It feels great to get that off our chests, especially the first win. That’s more important than the clean sheet.
“But to get both together shows that we’re really working. The defenders were dealing with Everton’s threat and, if they got through, I was thankful I was there. These are the standards I hold myself by. That was the real Aaron Ramsdale the Saints fans saw!”
(Image: Southampton FC via Getty Images)
In addition to repelling everything thrown at him by the visitors, Ramsdale proved he is more than capable with a ball at his feet. That attribute, of course, is integral at St Mary’s, where Martin refuses to waver from his possession-based philosophy of playing out from the back.
Often accused during his time at the Emirates of not being good enough at that side of the game, Ramsdale is a strong believer in the Saints’ style – albeit it causes angst in the stands. The former Bournemouth and Sheffield United star, 26, went on: “We don’t see it as risks. We see it as a way of play.
“We’ve done it for periods of games but have lost or dropped points. The fans, rightly so, can get nervous and edgy because they want to see us win and do well.
“Now we’ve put it all together. But I don’t think our mindset changed. We weren’t tense or edgy. We had to deal with that. We dogged it out and got our chances.”
Relieved Martin, who had appeared on the brink beforehand, never doubted £25million Ramsdale. Indeed, he sees him as the ideal modern-day number one.
The Southampton supremo said: “It’s the pressure that he takes for us with the ball. At Manchester City last weekend, he did incredible things. And, again, he did brilliant things today.
“So, for me, he’s like this complete goalkeeper that we’re really lucky to have. We have to enjoy him because he has such high standards. He’s massive. I hope he’s getting as much from it as we are from him.
“As a character, he’s immense, a good voice, trains properly and adds value but in a really nice way. And on the pitch, he makes those amazing saves, like the one from Keane, which was a top, top stop.
“We knew he could give us those moments and they can be the difference. I am so pleased for him to get his clean sheet because he has this appreciation of what and who we’re trying to be – and is just desperate to help.”