Aaron Ramsdale’s first clean sheet in 12 months underlined his importance to Southampton’s survival.
Among several impressive saves was an acrobatic leap to deflect Jesper Lindstrom’s free kick.
“I told him: ‘You have long fingers’ and he just smiled,” the Everton player revealed. “He had a good game, I’m furious.”
Ramsdale switched to Arsenal in a relegation fight last summer, having lost his place to David Raya. His last shutout was against Brentford in November 2023.
His inspired performance on Saturday – deflecting Michael Keane’s header onto the post and knocking down Orel Mangala’s hammer – propelled Saints off bottom with their first Premier League win, with Adam Armstrong scoring in the 85th minute.
Aaron Ramsdale’s first clean sheet in 12 months underlined his importance to Southampton
Ramsdale made several important saves as the Saints won their first league game of the season.
“These are the standards I hold myself to,” the England goalkeeper said. “It was the real Aaron Ramsdale that Saints fans saw. We had to dig deep as a team and come together.
“Once Keane’s header left my hand, I was grateful it didn’t hit my head or arm. “It bounced off the post a couple of times, landed on Keane’s lap and I just pushed it away.
Next weekend the Saints will become Wolves, the only team now below them, and boss Russell Martin is happy to have Ramsdale.
‘He is immense as a character. Good voice, trains well, always adds value, but in a very pleasant way,” he stated.
The end of Everton’s five-match unbeaten run was confirmed when Beto hit the crossbar 27 seconds before Armstrong’s goal and his shot was disallowed by VAR.
“That’s the Premier League. If you’re not prepared every second, the other team can score,” said Lindstrom, who put in his best performance since arriving on loan from Napoli.