Mikel Arteta quipped he will play mind games with Aaron Ramsdale in a bid to confuse him on Arsenal’s set-piece plans as he returns to the Emirates with Southampton today.
The goalkeeper left the Gunners over the summer in a four-year deal worth up to £25million, having largely occupied the bench after losing his starting spot to David Raya near the start of last season.
The 26-year-old spent three years with the north London club and was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the 2022-23 season after helping Arsenal to the cusp of the title.
Today’s match between Arsenal and Southampton pits Ramsdale against old side for the first time since leaving them. His knowledge of set-piece guru Nicolas Jover’s tactics, which saw the Gunners score 22 league goals via this route last season — the most across the league — is a potential advantage.
When asked whether their set-piece plans will have to adapted on Saturday because of Ramsdale, Arteta replied: ‘Probably. Maybe we tell him that we will adapt something but then do the same thing so he’s gonna be thinking we’re gonna adapt it!
Mikel Arteta suggested he will look to confuse his former goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on set-pieces
Ramsdale is set to face Arsenal for the first time since he made the switch to Southampton
‘So there’s maybe gonna be some mind games. I’m sure that they (Southampton) will have discussed that. It’s not the first time that we have played against a player that was in our camp, it’s natural that it happens.
‘We need to have the capacity to understand and continue to do our things.’
Ramsdale built a strong connection with the Arsenal fans and is well-remembered. Arteta is looking forward to the reunion.
‘I called him straight away after I got the news (of him going to Southampton),’ he said.
‘He was really happy. He’s a player that we loved a lot, very charismatic and he really put his fingerprints here at the club in the way that he was. It will be very good to see him.’
Saints manager Russell Martin is under pressure after picking up just one point in the league thus far amid suggestions he is facing the sack.
Arteta can relate to the pressure the 38-year-old is feeling, having faced such questions himself earlier on in his Arsenal tenure, but respects how Martin has stuck to his vision.
He said: ‘I love that kind of behaviour. At the end you have to do what you feel. He’s proven that his philosophy is very successful with what he did with Swansea and Southampton.
Ramsdale possesses knowledge of Arsenal set-piece guru Nicolas Jover's tactics
Arteta respects how Russell Martin has stuck to his vision despite Southampton's struggles
‘Last year I think they were 25 games unbeaten.
‘I think I understand what he wants to do and why he does it. It is very difficult to coach it and, at the level that he has done it, to perform.
‘You need a lot of courage because when he was winning a lot of games, nobody was talking about that and when you lose, it is too much. You need a lot of courage to do that (playing style) — and I love that.’
Both Ben White and Jurrien Timber are in contention to play after recent injury scares. Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is yet to play this season due to a knee injury, is also in the frame.