Patrick Vieira reserved praise for Aaron Ramsdale while speaking with BBC Sport after his Crystal Palace side beat Arsenal 3-0, to damage the Gunners’ Champions League hopes.
Mikel Arteta’s men travelled to Selhurst Park on Monday night in their first Premier League fixture following the international break. Tottenham Hotspur beating Newcastle United on Sunday had seen Arsenal fall out of fourth place. But they could not reverse the positions.
First-half goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jordan Ayew and a penalty by Wilfried Zaha in the second-half stunned the Emirates stadium outfit. Arsenal were second-best in all areas all night and to make matters worse, lost Thomas Partey as well as Kieran Tierney to injury.
Tierney suffered a knee injury during the international break that Arteta described as ‘not looking good’. The Scotland full-back will visit a specialist on Tuesday, while Partey pulled up in the second-half at Selhurst Park with an issue Arteta likewise dubbed a ‘big concern’.
How Nuno Tavares stood in for Tierney at Crystal Palace will be Another concern for Arteta and Arsenal. Arteta took his £7m summer signing off at half-time as the left-back struggled throughout the first-half. He also ducked out the way in the build-up for Mateta’s goal.
Patrick Vieira hails ‘really good’ Aaron Ramsdale after Palace beat Arsenal 3-0
Arsenal only needed a draw at Crystal Palace to regain fourth place in the Premier League and the box seat for Champions League qualification from Tottenham. But they now sit in fifth on goal difference by five, although the Gunners retain a game in hand over Spurs.
Crystal Palace also marked just the third time since Ramsdale joined Arsenal that the £24m signing from Sheffield United conceded three or more goals in a Premier League match. He also shipped three or more at Liverpool (4-0) and Manchester United (3-2) over the winter.
There was not much more the 23-year-old could have done to prevent either of the Eagles’ goals on Monday. And his efforts against Crystal Palace, plus keeping 12 clean sheets in his prior 24 Premier League games for Arsenal, saw Vieira reserve his praise for Ramsdale.
“We know the quality they have,” Vieira stated. “They have a really good goalkeeper. We needed everybody to perform well to get something from the game, and we did it today.”
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