Aaron Ramsdale: ‘Arsenal bottled it? That’s just a quick, cheap narrative’

W hen Arsenal returned to training on Tuesday their manager had a pick-me-up ready to go. Mikel Arteta’s quirkier motivational methods have achieved renown but this was more straightforward. Where usually the classroom inquest into a weekend game would bring clips of points for improvement, rounded off by reminders of things they had done well, this time the tone was kept entirely positive. The squad had cut dejected figures leaving the Emirates two days previously, Brighton having comprehensively put any remaining title pretensions to bed, and even Arteta had struggled to perform his usual hype-man act afterwards. Now he sensed a dose of perspective was needed.

“We did a different style of meeting, just remembering how far we’ve come,” says Aaron Ramsdale, whose frustration at being lobbed by Deniz Undav for the Seagulls’ second goal had been clear. “He put on the board about how we can still have the most wins by an Arsenal team in the Premier League, and about how it’s very disappointing at the moment but how progressive the season has been, how positive we can be.”

Ramsdale, sitting next to a pond on a warm day at Arsenal’s training ground, can appreciate the sunny side too. The fruits of their labour are already rich: a return to the Champions League and only a third top-two finish in the last 19 years. Extra benefits have come Ramsdale’s way. On Thursday he signed a new contract and it was recognition, at the end of his second campaign with the club, that he has become an integral part of their rebirth.

“This season has been incredible, the jump from last year especially,” he says. “But I understood my ability and it was just about trying to unlock that and do it more consistently. I’m still learning and trying