Despite being one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, Arsenal shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale was warned that it could take him up to a year to become a regular in the Gunners team by Mikel Arteta.
Ramsdale has impressed at the Emirates Stadium so far this season, keeping 12 clean sheets in 30 league appearances. But the 23-year-old has provided far more than simply goalkeeping ability.
The England international has an aura of confidence in his ability which has strengthened the defence immensely, whilst his commanding leadership has also shone throughout the campaign. But Ramsdale admitted on The Peter Crouch Podcast that he wasn’t expecting to be immediately Arsenal no.1 due to what Arteta told him.
Asked if he was ‘over the moon’ with the start to his career in North London since joining them in the summer from Sheffield United, he explained: “Yeah definitely, I didn’t think when I signed that I’d be in straight away. The manager was upfront with me and said ‘it might take you a year, it might take you six months but we don’t see you as a number two, it just depends on how the teams doing’.
“I think thankfully for me we were in a tough moment at the start of the season and I got thrown in and I managed to just play with some of my confidence and yeah, stayed in the team. I think it always helps when, obviously, Bernd (Leno) is a top keeper and a professional, it’s so much easier to stay switched on than someone that sort of just tosses off.”
Ramsdale arrived for a fee that could rise up to £30million, which certainly raised eyebrows. But from the get-go, Arteta was keen for him to make an impact both on and off the pitch, and made the former Bournemouth goalkeeper aware of this over the phone before he even put pen to paper on a contract.
He explained: “The phone calls after the ball got rolling was the bid had been accepted were instrumental for me. As soon as I got there he (Arteta) told me to be myself, try and shake the changing room up, be confident.
“But there was definitely, I reckon, people who were just saying ‘hold on a minute’, especially as I was relegated for the second time, £24million up to whatever it was is a lot of money, especially at the time as reported as a number two. I definitely would have been getting some criticism.”
Arsenal are currently sitting in the fourth spot in the Premier League, two points ahead of North London rivals Tottenham. Securing Champions League football would be a huge achievement for the Gunners given they have a relatively young squad who have taken time to gel and get on board with Arteta’s plan, and Ramsdale has had a major role to play in their successes.
