Aaron Ramsdale’s first clean sheet for 12 months underlined his importance to Southampton’s survival bid.

Among several stunning saves was an acrobatic leap to claw away Jesper Lindstrom’s free-kick.

‘I said to him, “You’ve got long fingers” and he just smiled,’ revealed the Everton man. ‘He had a good game — I’m fuming.’

Ramsdale swapped Arsenal for a relegation scrap last summer, having lost his place to David Raya. His last shut-out came against Brentford in November 2023.

His inspired showing on Saturday — turning a Michael Keane header on to the post and tipping over Orel Mangala’s piledriver — propelled the Saints off the bottom with their first Premier League win, Adam Armstrong scoring in the 85th minute.

Aaron Ramsdale ‘s first clean sheet for 12 months underlined his importance to Southampton

Ramsdale made a number of big saves as the Saints won their first league game of the season

‘They are the standards I hold myself by,’ said the England goalkeeper. ‘It was the real Aaron Ramsdale that Saints fans saw. We had to dig deep as a team and knit it together.

‘Once Keane’s header came off my hand, I am thankful it didn’t hit me on the head or arm. It ricocheted off the post a couple of times, sat on Keane’s lap and I just poked it around.’

Next weekend Saints to go Wolves, the only team now below them, and boss Russell Martin is glad to have Ramsdale.

‘He’s immense as a character. Good voice, trains properly, always adds value, but in a really nice way,’ he said.

The end of Everton’s five-game unbeaten run was confirmed when Beto hit the bar 27 seconds before Armstrong’s goal and had an effort ruled out by VAR.

‘That’s the Premier League. If you are not ready every second, the other team can score,’ said Lindstrom, who put in his best display since joining on loan from Napoli.