There has been much talk about Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal this season as his young Gunners currently sit atop the Premier League table in the run-up to the upcoming international break, with an away day at Brentford to negotiate before a break from league action in England.
While the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Ødegaard, and Gabriel Magalhães have received considerable praise after Arsenal has won five of their opening six league matches under their Spanish headmaster, England international Aaron Ramsdale remains an unsung puzzle piece in the Gunners camp.
But according to think tank CIES Football Observatory, Ramsdale has been the most impactful goalkeeper in the world under the age of 25 across the last 365-days of compiled data.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has been the most impactful goalkeeper under-25 this season so far (90.6 score). [@90min_Football via @CIES_Football] #afc pic.twitter.com/x1XktObQ4k
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 15, 2022
As defined by CIES, an impactful player is classified as “The Impact Score is an exclusive CIES Football Observatory’s metrics developed to assess players’ sporting achievement and potential. It is calculated by taking into consideration the average match level in which players participated according to the experience capital method, official game minutes played over the last 365 days, as well as pitch performance compared to both teammates, opponents, and same profile players.
The role-based approach used to determine technical profiles clusters players according to the level of their involvement in eight areas of the game with respect to teammates: air defense, ground defense, recovery, distribution, take on, chance creation, air attack, and shooting.”
Thus far, Ramsdale has repaid the faith shown in him by Arteta and club technical director Edu Gaspar when they secured his services from Sheffield United last summer in a ~£24m deal which ultimately saw him strip German international shot-stopper Bernd Leno of the number one spot at the Emirates Stadium.
“When I realized that it wasn’t about performance or quality, I knew that I had to go. In preparation, I saw that it is not about performance, but only about politics. It was clear to me: I had to get out of here. The most important thing for me is to find my rhythm again, especially after I wasn’t actually able to train properly at Arsenal and had no preparation. It’s up to me to get the focus back on the national team.”
Regardless of how Leno may feel about the manner in which his stint at Arsenal came to a rapid end, Ramsdale has laid a gauntlet in the Premier League and looks set to compete for the England number one shirt after once again being included in the latest national team squad.
