Martin Keown has criticised Aaron Ramsdale for his role in Andreas Pereira scoring to hand Fulham an early lead at Emirates Stadium as Arsenal conceded after 57 seconds.
The Cottagers travelled to north London this Saturday afternoon chasing their first win away to Arsenal ever. Fulham had lost in 25 of their previous 31 visits to the Gunners and drawn in six. Yet Pereira fired past Ramsdale to break the deadlock in the first minute this weekend.
Fulham silenced Emirates Stadium after a rare mistake by homegrown hero Bukayo Saka. He turned the ball over to Pereira with the 27-year-old in lots of space. But the Brazilian did not need to utilise the room the Gunners afforded him as he spotted Ramsdale out of position.
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Pereira punished Ramsdale for the Arsenal star’s poor positioning
Pereira curled his effort into Ramsdale’s net at Saka’s expense after a mix-up in the Gunners ranks. The Duffel, Belgium-born midfielder struck a first-time effort behind Ramsdale as he scrambled to get back. But the attempt wrong-footed Ramsdale who could not reset in time.
Ramsdale was on the edge of Arsenal’s area when Pereira took possession of the ball from Saka’s misplaced pass. No Gunners player was near to the one-cap Selecao international, as well. William Saliba was the closest home star but was not in a position to pressure Pereira.
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Arsenal have now only kept one clean sheet through their three Premier League matches so far this season after Pereira beat Ramsdale for Fulham’s goal. The Gunners also let in one to Nottingham Forest on the opening day. But they dug in deep with 10 men at Crystal Palace.
Keown hit out at Ramsdale after Fulham stole an early lead
Dogged defending by Mikel Arteta’s men ensured they thwarted the Eagles and won 1-0 after Takehiro Tomiyasu’s red card. Jakub Kiwior took the Japan international’s spot as the Gunners’ left-back on Saturday. But he could only watch on as the Cottagers stole the lead.
And, rather than taking aim at Saka’s pass, Arsenal hero Keown slammed Ramsdale for his role in Pereira’s goal for Fulham. The former Gunners and England defender believes the 25-year-old’s poor positioning was the primary reason why Pereira broke the deadlock early on.
He told the BBC’s Final Score: “This was something we saw often at the end of last season when Arsenal didn’t take advantage of their lead in the title race. Ramsdale is so far off his line, he does this so often and I’m not sure why, and Pereira shoots into the near post.”