Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale produces howler for Brentford equaliser

Aaron Ramsdale produced a horrific error leading to Brentford's equaliser on his return to the Arsenal side this evening.

With David Raya unable to play against his parent club, Ramsdale was brought back in between the sticks for a rare start at the Emirates.

The Gunners went 1-0 through Declan Rice in the 19th minute but disaster struck for the England goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time.

He hesitated after taking a poor touch inside his box and was closed down by Yoane Wissa, who blocked his clearance and saw the ball ricochet into the back of the net.

Brentford are LEVEL! ⚖️

A GIFT from Ramsdale and Wissa gladly accepts! 🎁 pic.twitter.com/mqQxUtlKW8

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2024

Ramsdale looked absolutely gutted after making the mistake on what could well be his final appearance for the club.

The former Sheffield United man made just his fifth Premier League appearance of the season and his first since the reverse fixture away at Brentford in November.

He did start in the Champions League against PSV, as well as playing in the FA Cup third round defeat to Liverpool in his most recent outing in January.

Having been demoted to second choice, Ramsdale has attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle United and looks set to leave in the summer.

Prior to this evening's game, Mikel Arteta praised Ramdale and said he was more than ready to come back into the sid.

“It is what it is, he is fully prepared, he trains really well every day - he is desperate to play like the rest of the boys who haven’t had that many opportunities and Saturday is a great day for him,” he told a press conference.

“He’s been brilliant, he’s been really good, really supportive, really pushing everything in training like I expected and it’s a joy to have two top goalkeepers in the team.

“One of the toughest things to deal with is for players who don’t have the amount of time that they deserve. Not only Aaron, but with many of those, but we have an unbelievable group of players."