The drastic changes that were needed in the Arsenal squad in the summer were clear to all to see and whilst the Gunners’ most expensive summer on record was a worthy reaction, questions were still raised regarding the recruitment.
None of the six signings made by Arsenal’s technical director Edu with the aid of manager Mikel Arteta could be described as marquee additions. Away from the window-shaking arrivals of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal simply made sure each player progressed the positions in the side.
Yet, upon the arrival of a few, criticism was seen from both fans and pundits. In particular, both Takehiro Tomiyasu and Aaron Ramsdale came in for significant backlash before even kicking a ball after signing for a combined £49.8m.
The former Sheffield United stopper had to disable comments on his Instagram page before even having the move made official.
Fans swarmed to his pages to try and convince the goalkeeper and now senior England international not to sign for the club.
“I saw the backlash,” Ramsdale told The Times. “That’s when I made the decision to turn comments off, notifications off for people I don’t follow on Instagram and Twitter. People can tag me but I won’t see it, so it won’t come up on my feed.
“When people were saying I was getting a lot of stick and abuse, I said, ‘Am I?’ Because I didn’t really know and I didn’t really care because, yes, I’ve been relegated twice but the way I looked at it was two years of completely different experiences to other people at 23 [years old]. It’s me and ten other people on the pitch.”
Since then, the goalkeeper currently falls behind only Alisson and Ederson regarding clean sheets and has pulled off some brilliant saves during his time as an Arsenal player.
Former Spurs and Billericay Town midfielder Jamie O’Hara previously described Ramsdale’s arrival as part of a recruitment drive akin to that of a ‘B team.’
“[Martin] Odegaard, [Aaron] Ramsdale, Ben White, [Sambi] Lokonga and [Nuno] Tavares. They’ve spent £135 million on a B team.”
The aforementioned players plus Tomiyasu would all feature in the 3-1 home win over Tottenham just a couple of weeks later. The Japanese star saw his arrival met with a collective raised eyebrow from pundits, commentators and rival Premier League fans.
The defender did not fill column inches throughout the summer and did not stoke Arsenal fans to edit Youtube compilations, so his surprise arrival to London came with next to no fanfare.
But the reality is that Ramsdale and Tomiyasu have been the two standout performers for the Gunners since their arrival. Not solely due to their on-field performances, but their impact on a mental level for the side too.
They lead by example and have shown inspiring moments for their colleagues. Just today, Ramsdale was seen celebrating emphatically after starting the build-up to Alexandre Lacazette’s opening goal. Fans took to Twitter to revel in the knee slide the 23-year-old performed captured by the television cameras upon the Frenchman’s strike.
Tomiyasu meanwhile sets a precedence with the tenacity of his play. The defender never gives up on a loose ball. Any opportunity to try and reach the ball in a challenge or 50/50 he attempts it.
If the Arsenal team can try and replicate the enthusiasm and commitment the pair share, not only will it be smugly enjoyable to see further critics eat their words, but the club will be far better off because of it.
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