Mikel Arteta made the right decision to start Mat Ryan against Aston Villa last weekend.
That's the verdict of former Middlesbrough, Fulham and Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who has been full of praise for his compatriot Ryan, who made his first appearance for the Gunners in the 1-0 defeat at Villa Park.
It was a nightmare start for the Brighton loanee has he conceded just 74 seconds into his Arsenal bow, with Ollie Watkins netting what proved to be the only goal of the game.
But Ryan was not at fault for the goal and performed well thereafter, with the 28-year-old earning praise from Schwarzer, who played more than 500 Premier League games during his career.
“I did tell him after the game that he was only the fourth player in the Premier League to concede inside two minutes and he said ‘yeah, cheers for that!’,” Schwarzer said, speaking on Optus Sport’s Two Sharp Reds podcast.
“It is a tough one, but the thing is he played really well afterwards, and he couldn’t have done anything about the goal.
“From that point onwards, he played well.
"It is a testament to him, it takes a lot of mental strength, you’ve got to pick yourself up, work really hard, it has come really quickly.
“He obviously believes in his own ability, did what he had to do to get himself right, I think Mikel Arteta definitely made the right decision in playing him and overall he had a really good performance.”
Ryan's opportunity came with Bernd Leno suspended following his red card against Wolves, with the German ruled out of the game at Villa Park as a result.
Arteta opted for the more experienced Ryan ahead of Runar Alex Runarsson for the game, but now faces a decision with Leno returning from suspension for the game against Leeds United this weekend.
Leno has previously been Arsenal's undisputed number one goalkeeper this season following the sale of Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa last summer, with the German making 28 appearances so far this term for the Gunners.
Ryan is currently on loan from Brighton until the end of the season, with no decision made over his future beyond the end of the loan spell, as yet.
