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Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has lamented the performance of his side as they were beaten 2-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.
Leandro Trossard's top-corner strike and a sensational volleyed finish by Enock Mwepu did the damage. The Gunners pulled one back through Martin Odegaard, but that was not enough as they slumped to their third defeat in four league outings.
Ramsdale has been in fine form this season as has his Arsenal team, but they have come off the boil at the worst time possible. They are now fifth in the standings, with their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur thrashing Aston Villa 4-0 to go three points clear of the Gunners, who have a game in hand, though.
The 23-year-old Ramsdale has criticised his team's performance against the Seagulls, telling Arsenal.com (via JustArsenal):
"It’s not good enough. Two games on the spin where the first 45 minutes has got away from us. You make it an uphill battle against any team in the Premier League if you’re losing at half-time. We were not in the rhythm of the game; that's unlike us, especially at home where we've normally started really well all season. It was a really poor performance."
The Gunners were beaten by Crystal Palace earlier in the week when a first-half blitz blew the north London side away. It was a similar story on Saturday, with Arteta's men not getting a foothold in the game until it was too late as Brighton grew in confidence and shut up shop. Ramsdale added:
"One-nil down is tough enough; two-nil down in the Premier League is even harder, so if we’d have got the first goal back even earlier, we might have pushed and pushed, but there was too much to do in the end."
Aaron Ramsdale urges Arsenal to react to latest setback
Arsenal travel to St Mary's to face Southampton next Saturday. The Gunners know they can ill afford to drop any points now with Spurs in the driving seat to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. Ramsdale said:
"This was supposed to be the reaction game, but it wasn’t. We’ve lost and not managed to pick up any points, and next week is even bigger. I think we just need to go out there and be free and play our game, you know? It’s a game of football, and I think in the first half we were very tense and slow."
He concluded:
"So we just need to go out there next week, trust what the manager and the coaching staff are saying and go and play our football, which we’ve done all season.”
The Gunners will hope their crosscity rivals Spurs slip up before a tantalising encounter between the two sides on May 12 that could decide the top-four race.
