- Mikel Arteta joked that he will look to play mind games with Aaron Ramsdale
- Ramsdale will face his former club Arsenal with Southampton on Saturday.
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Mikel Arteta joked that he will play mind games with Aaron Ramsdale in a bid to confuse him over Arsenal’s set-piece plans when he returns to the Emirates with Southampton on Saturday.
The goalkeeper left the Gunners over the summer on a four-year deal worth up to £25million, having largely filled the bench after losing his starting spot to David Raya near the start of last season.
The 26-year-old spent three years at the north London club and was named PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the 2022-23 season after helping Arsenal reach the pinnacle of the title.
Saturday’s match between Arsenal and Southampton pits Ramsdale against his former team for the first time since he left them. His knowledge of the tactics of set-piece guru Nicolas Jover, who saw the Gunners score 22 league goals via this route last season, the most in the entire league, is a potential advantage.
Asked if his set-piece plans will have to be adapted on Saturday because of Ramsdale, Arteta replied: “Probably.” Maybe we tell him we’re adapting something but then do the same thing so he thinks we’re adapting it!
Mikel Arteta suggested he will look to confuse his former goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on set pieces
Ramsdale will face Arsenal for the first time since moving to Southampton.
‘So maybe there will be some mind games. I’m sure they (Southampton) will have discussed it. It is not the first time that we played against a player who was in our field, it is natural that it happens.
“We need to have the ability to understand and continue doing our things.”
Ramsdale built a strong connection with Arsenal fans and is well remembered. Arteta is looking forward to the reunion.
“I called him immediately after I got the news (that he was going to Southampton),” he said.
‘I was really happy. He is a player that we loved a lot, very charismatic and who really left his mark here at the club because of his way of being. “It will be very good to see.”
Saints manager Russell Martin is under pressure after picking up just one point in the league so far amid suggestions he faces the sack.
Arteta can relate to the pressure the 38-year-old feels, having faced these types of questions himself earlier in his Arsenal tenure, but respects how Martin has stuck to his vision.
He said: ‘I love that kind of behaviour. In the end you have to do what you feel. He has shown that his philosophy is very correct with what he did with Swansea and Southampton.
Ramsdale learns the tactics of Arsenal’s set-piece guru Nicolas Jover
Arteta respects how Russell Martin has stuck to his vision despite Southampton’s struggles
‘Last year I think they were 25 games undefeated.
“I think I understand what he wants to do and why he does it. It is very difficult to train him and, at the level he has done, perform.
“It takes a lot of courage because when I won a lot of games, nobody talked about it and when you lose, it’s too much.” “You need a lot of courage to do that (style of play) and I love that.”
Both Ben White and Jurrien Timber are candidates to play after recent injuries. Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has not yet played this season due to a knee injury, is also in the picture.
