Gary Neville’s choice to snub Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe from his team of the season so far was definitely the wrong decision.
The Sky Sports pundit was asked about his team of the season after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Monday evening, which has put the Gunners in the driving seat for a top-four finish.
Neville had put Liverpool’s Allison Becker as his goalkeeper of the campaign so far, and Phill Foden as the best-performing left winger in the league.
With Arsenal currently being one of the most in-form teams in the league, Smith Rowe and Ramsdale boast statistics that are much better than the players Neville had chosen ahead of them.
After Smith Rowe’s goal against Norwich on Sunday, it meant that the youngster reached 10 goal contributions already, with the season only just reaching its halfway point.
Even more significantly, he has almost doubled his goal contribution tally from the whole of last season where he made just six contributions.
While Foden was excellent towards the end of last season, in where he established himself as a Manchester City regular, he has not been performing to the same level as Emile Smith Rowe.
Foden has seven-goal contributions in the Premier League so far this campaign, meaning he has three less than the Arsenal midfielder, despite playing in a team that have much more firepower in the attack.
The Hale End star has become the fourth Arsenal player under the age of 21 to score in three straight Premier League games, the previous three being Nicolas Anelka, Jose Antonio Reyes, and Cesc Fabregas. , and with this incredible achievement in mind, leaving him out of the team of the year is certainly the wrong decision.
Ramsdale has been one of the best goalkeepers in the country this season and has played a pivotal part in the Gunners’ surprise fight for the Champions League qualification positions.
Fans were sceptical about the £30 million price tag for him after playing his part in back-to-back relegations from the Premier League, but now supporters are starting to eat their words.
Despite playing in a defence that is considered weaker and certainly less experienced than Liverpool, Ramsdale still has the same amount of clean sheets as Alisson this season with nine.
The Brazilian goalkeeper has made some costly mistakes this campaign, which should certainly have given the English goalkeeper the edge in Neville’s team.
Smith Rowe and Ramsdale should be unanimous in deciding the Premier League team of the year so far, but if they continue to perform at the same level. they are now, then there is no doubting they will be included in the team of the season.
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