Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reserved special praise for Aaron Ramsdale for his "amazing" reaction to his goalkeeping gaffe in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win over Brentford at the Emirates.
With David Raya ineligible to take on his parent club, Ramsdale came in for his first top-flight start since the reverse fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium, where he kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 triumph.
The England international made a couple of errors which went unpunished in that November success, though, and he was guilty of another blunder in Saturday's affair, which Brentford would make him pay the price for.
After Declan Rice had headed Arsenal into the lead, Ramsdale dallied over a clearance in first-half injury time, allowing a sliding Yoane Wissa to charge him down and deflect the ball into the back of the net.
However, the 25-year-old made a pair of vital saves to keep the scores level in the second half, denying Ivan Toney's speculative effort and Nathan Collins's header with two full-length stops before Kai Havertz's 86th-minute header sent Arsenal to the summit of the Premier League table.
Ramsdale had a beaming smile etched across his face at full time, and Arteta - who will be expected to demote him back down to the bench for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Porto - waxed lyrical about his "courage" and "huge personality".
"Really happy, especially because he did exactly what he is, which is a person with a huge personality and courage, very determined," arsenal.com quotes Arteta as saying in his post-match press conference.
"An error is part of football, it's hard to react about it, especially for the keepers because it's probably the most difficult position but he did it in an amazing way.
"I am not surprised because the whole team and whole stadium was behind him. He has that respect and admiration and really wanted to win for him that moment and he really helped us to win the game."
Following Ramsdale's interventions, Arsenal's persistent huffing and puffing finally paid off as Havertz's fierce header from a Ben White cross proved too hot for Mark Flekken to handle, sending the Gunners to the top of the rankings for at least 24 hours.
Excelling at the tip of the Arsenal attack, the rejuvenated Havertz - who was heavily criticised in his first few months in an Arsenal shirt - has now scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances, and Arteta admitted that he did not expect the German to receive the level of love from the fans that he currently is.
"I am so happy. If someone told me that after the first two or three months the whole stadium is singing his song with that passion, with that feeling, with that chemistry, it would be hard to believe, but that's what happens to good people and an exceptional player," Arteta added.
"Especially from the outside maybe, because in industries like this, it was the moment he started to score the goals. And everything started to flow.
"People started to feel more connected with him and they see the work rate, they see his intelligence, we see how he plays for the team, and he's contributing. It's impossible not to love him."
Prior to Liverpool's blockbuster battle with Manchester City, the Gunners sit one point clear of the Reds and two better off than the champions, and they will end the weekend in first place if Sunday's Anfield showdown ends level. body check tags ::
