Arsenal secured three big points on Saturday by beating Aston Villa 1-0.
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal his 2,000. Premier League goal scored to give his side a deserved victory at Villa Park.
When the Gunners celebrated their victory on the pitch in front of their traveling fans, they were joined by a player who missed the match due to an injury.
Aaron Ramsdale started Arsenal’s previous 24 Premier League games after ousting Bernd Leno as the club’s first goalkeeper in September.
But Ramsdale was unavailable against Villa after Arsenal reported earlier on Saturday that he had a hip problem.
Ramsdale and Leno are in direct competition for a place on the Arsenal team, but they did not look like rivals as they celebrated together at Villa Park.
A photo showed Ramsdale smiling from ear to ear as Leno pushed closer to Arsenal fans to get a standing ovation for his clean sheet.
Aaron Ramsdale playfully pushes Bernd Leno as Arsenal players celebrate a 1-0 win over Aston Villa
IMAGO / Nick Potts
The image highlighted how much work Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has done to build a healthy team spirit at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta told BBC Sport after the victory at Villa: “The connection between the players and the fans is extraordinary and it gives you a lot of energy and faith.”
As for the goalkeeper situation, he added: “It was hard for Bernd not to have played the minutes he was used to in his career, but Aaron was there to support him.”
Arteta further revealed that Ramsdale had played through the pain barrier at Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat against Liverpool three days earlier.
As quoted by football.london, Arteta said: “He has not been comfortable in the last 50 minutes against Liverpool.
“He wanted to be here to support Bernd, who tells you about a lot of things behind the scenes.”
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