Kevin Campbell claims Aaron Ramsdale has added a new dimension to Arsenal since replacing Bernd Leno in goal.
The former Sheffield United ‘keeper divided opinion when the Gunners splashed out an initial £24million to sign him during the summer window.
But he has quickly usurped his more senior colleague and has since kept three clean sheets in his first four Premier League appearances for the club.
Arsenal had conceded nine times in the opening three games of the season, losing them all and pressure piling on manager Mikel Arteta.
However, Ramsdale’s introduction into the starting XI has dramatically changed their fortunes, picking up 10 points from a possible 12.
The 23-year-old registered another shutout during the battling 0-0 draw with Brighton at the Amex on Saturday and Campbell believes his vocal nature means he has qualities Leno simply doesn’t possess.
“This is the beautiful thing about football,” Campbell told Football Insider. “At first, I didn’t pass judgement because I did not know enough about him.
“Instead, I went away and did my research. Others made preconceptions about him because he was relegated with a couple of clubs.
“It was held against him straight away. When people found out he was signing he received hate on social media.
“He had to turn off his messages and comments and this was before he had even signed for the football club. Straight away fans are on his back even though he hadn’t done anything.
“There was a preconceived idea that he was not good enough for Arsenal but let me tell you, that young man has impressed me as much as anyone they’ve signed.
“I think he’s been incredible. Not just his saves and his distribution but the way he commands his box.
“He is not afraid to give his defenders a rollicking. That is really important. I never saw Leno do it. You can see that he has a feeling for the football club.”
Was Aaron Ramsdale Arsenal's Player of the Month for September? Cast your vote here
Arteta alluded to those qualities outside of simply shot stopping, outlining the characteristics that convinced the Gunners he was the man to ultimately replace Leno.
“The way we’ve decided to recruit Aaron is going through a big process where obviously we wanted to know about his personality, about his character, about the way he could handle the fact to play under big pressure in a big club,” Arteta explained.
“He’s showing that he’s ready to do that. I’m really happy with his performances and what he’s bringing to the team.
“That’s why I think defensively we’ve been difficult to concede goals.”
