After seeing our lead at the top of the Premier League trimmed, Aaron Ramsdale believes that the unpredictable nature of the division means we cannot give up on our title aspirations.
Following our 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, we remain top of the table but City have now moved two points behind us with two games in hand, meaning the fate of the silverware now lies with them.
But having seen many incredible things happen in football - and especially England’s top tier - down the years, our shot-stopper feels we have to keep believing that we can still finish ahead of tonight’s opponents.
Speaking post-match, he said: “The immediate reaction coming off the pitch is disappointment. We came here to win the game and we haven’t managed to do that.
“We haven’t played nine months of Premier League football to be in this position to moan or give up - we’re not going to do that. If something is going to happen, it’s going to be in our league, so, we’ve got to be there to pounce if anything happens.
“Nothing changes for us; we’ll go through everything as we always do and learn from our mistakes, individually and collectively. Unfortunately tonight we haven’t been able to do what we came to achieve.”
The game’s two key moments came in the opening 45 minutes when Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring after just nine minutes, before we suffered a hammer blow right before half-time when John Stones’ header changed our gameplan.
Aaron believes that City’s ruthlessness coupled with our sluggish start meant it was always going to be difficult to recover from a 2-0 deficit, but feels our young side can learn lessons from the reigning champions as we strive to be even better in the future.
On City, he said: “They’ll punish you if you’re half a yard too slow into the press or not winning headers or second balls. It was difficult to get a foothold in the game, but at the same time, we didn’t impose ourselves enough in the first half, giving them a two-goal lead and they were relentless, that’s what they are.
“They’re just a frightening team when they want to be. We’re aspiring to be the best team in this league, so we’ll look at how they do things and try and be up there with them. Credit to the lads that we’re this close to them.”
Despite the disappointing result, our supporters in the away once again backed the boys right until the end, and our number one is determined that loyalty will be rewarded in our next game when Chelsea head to Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the Gooners who made a midweek trip to the north-west, he said: “They’re a credit to themselves and the football club, and give us huge pushes. We’re definitely disappointed that we can’t send them home with a smile on their faces, but if there’s one thing about this set of fans which I’ve seen over the last 18 months, they don’t give up.
“They know that we’re giving our all. Mistakes can happen - we saw the backing I got last week with my mistake and how the whole stadium got behind me. There’ll be no moans and groans back home on Tuesday night when we play against Chelsea.
“They’re top drawer and hopefully they’ll have a safe trip back, and I can’t wait to see them on Tuesday and try to make things right.”
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