Why Aaron Ramsdale has made a mistake leaving Arsenal for Southampton
On the 30th August in the final days of the 2024 Summer Transfer Market, Aaron Ramsdale signed for Southampton.
Last season he was overtaken as Mikel Arteta’s number one choice in goal by David Raya who was on loan at The Gunners from Brentford before signing permanently in July.
Raya overtook Ramsdale after only five games during the 2023/24 campaign before achieving the Premier League Golden Glove award with 15 clean sheets in 30 matches. This left Ramsdale out of contention of being included again this season.
Despite being handed more game time and appearances at Saints than if he was still with the Gunners, it hasn’t quite gone his way.
He’s ranked according to Transfer Market as the 28th worse goalkeeper this Premier League campaign out of 29, which is something Ramsdale would much rather forget about and vanish from his mind.
After five matches in goal for the Hampshire side he’s already conceded over double that number of goals (13) in 450 minutes, showing that he’s conceded a strike just over every 34 minutes which is concerning for him.
The once leading clean sheet holder during the 2022/23 season has conceded three times on four occasions out of five in a Saints shirt, hardly handed the chance to show his ability.
Southampton might’ve been a regular in the Premier League for 11 years before eventual relegation come the end of the 2022/23 season, but since coming back up from the Championship straight away they’re currently sat 19th in the relegation zone, with one point in seven matches and no victories at all. Overall this hasn’t improved the once “World Class” goalie struggling reputation which has further depreciated.
If he’d of gone to a better side higher up the table such as the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle who he was reportedly linked to in the Summer Transfer Market, he would’ve been handed a better opportunity and a stronger defence in front of him for sure.
However Ramsdale isn’t concerned about the facts and figures in relation to his tricky Southampton appearances as stated on BBC’S Football Focus when spoken to.
An unfazed Ramsdale who seemed more focused on game time than reputation declared:”If I was sitting on the bench, it (winning a trophy) wouldn’t have meant that much to me.
“I just wanted to play football. As a kid I wanted to play football to play, not just sit on a bench.
“Getting out and playing was my aim so I’m lucky I found myself here at Southampton.”
Whether Ramsdale sees it or not he’s certainly not helped himself or his career entirely moving to Southampton who are already fighting to get out of the relegation zone currently, early on in the season.
Liam Harding
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!st choice for the Saints or 2nd choice for Arsenal. Bit of a no brainer really😂🤣😂
The headlines never cease to amaze me 😟
“I just wanted to play football. As a kid I wanted to play football to play, not just sit on a bench.” – that says it all, doesn’t it?
I think this maybe the first and certainly the last time anyone uses Ramsdale and world class in the same sentence.
Ramsdal badly wanted to play football as regular first-choice keeper, that we all know. What I doubt is if it was for So’ton ( no disrespect)
I think the guy expected some more ‘respectable’ team to have come for him. But instead he may actually be fighting against relegation now.
To that extent, I’m sure there’s some tinge of regret somewhere there.
Very fair assessment CorporateMan, as I am sure there must be a tinge of regret. Having been part of 2 teams was it(?) that got relegated, it looks as though he may be in a bit of trouble again.
It was a bit of a punt for Southampton making Ramsdale their top earner by some way, but even though he has qualities, I can’t see that being enough on its own to keep the club in the top flight.
I think he had to twist, as sticking as number 2 at Arsenal with little opportunity to get much game time seems not to be part of his DNA
It was not a clever move he should have bided his time to get a better move or be willing to go abroad for the sake of his career Long term thinking and patience were needed No one will remember him once Southampton is back playing Championship football Surely he had higher aspiration than Championship football Maybe he thinks Southampton can be a stepping stone I don’t know maybe
He said he wanted to play rather than sit on the bench; a respectable comment from a professional. I would be more concerned if he was content sitting on the bench collecting a paycheck from Arsenal.
The drop off in defensive quality in front of him is evident; not to mention the midfield and overall level of players around him. I think many GK would find it challenging playing goal for Southampton this year.
I agree.
I don’t understand how on earth staying as No. 2 at Arsenal would have improved his chances of a better move later.
The whole season he spent at The Emirates as back-up to Rayan was very probably one of the main reasons why he didn’t attract other clubs in the summer.
Clearly, he’s going to have a lot more to do at Southampton but he’s getting game time – which the article quoted him as saying was most important to him. He just couldn’t get that at Arsenal.
*Raya (slip of the keyboard).
What is a career that is on the bench
Is it a career when you never actually do anything ?
And you guys forget these guys are working – it’s a job for them
Should I have stayed as an intern-forever at Facebook instead of going to a smaller Tech Company where I actually work – improve my skills become a Team Lead and have the hope of building something great (whether it happens or not) ?
Intern-forever doesn’t sound like a career
A pretty disrespectful headline and tone of article for a goalkeeper who took us to 2nd in the Premier league and gave us a platform going on to compete in the Champions league. Ramsdale’s career was stagnating/going backwards staying at Arsenal shown by at the time of transfer being dropped by Carsley for England. Good luck to him for wanting to play, get back to form and even if he gets relegated as Southampton are poor, then another opportunity may arise, as has happened before. Come on JustArsenal you can do better
I think he was badly advised, twice he was relegated & no one was even considering him to be part of England team now that he was at Arsenal he was told he deserves to play regularly & he thought going to Southampton was going to keep his stock up…now not even England coach will be looking at him..he should have simply sucked it up & stayed with Arsenal & waited for a better move…it’s a shame such a quality keeper now is at the pits
RAMSDALE MADE A VERY BIG MISTAKE BY PUSHING TO EAVE ARSENAL. ATLEAST HE WILL STILL HAVE SOME PLAYING TIME WHENEVER RAYA DID NOT PLAY, BUT HE CHOOSE TO MOVE TO SOUTHAMPTON WHO ARE FIGHTING RELEGATION. HE WOULD HAVE A BETTER REPUTATION HAD HE REMAINED AN ARSENAL PLAYER THAN MOVING TO SOUTHAMPTON .
I was never this northern kid’s biggest fan but this “article” and headline is very disrespectful to the boy.
Was it only a fee days ago that I saw Southampton come from 2-0 down to be beaten by two injury time goals in a match that saw them deserve a point at the very least?
We’ve had fans on here moaning about the likes of Ozil, Aubameyang, Cedric and even Elneny prepared to sit on the bench and “bleeding the club dry” by just honouring their contracts.
Along comes Aaron Ramsdale, who was an England international, ousted Bernd Leno and became a Arsenal hero for his obvious love of the club and its fans while doing a first class job between the sticks.
Suddenly he finds himself No. 2 to a loaner keeper, but promised that there was no No. 1 keeper and he would be given his chance to fight for his place and might even be used as a substitute keeper during matches…. None of that turned out to be true of course.
He wasn’t content to sit on the bench, bleeding the club dry in the process, but stayed quite and waited for any opportunity, believing that what he was told was true.
He played one PL game, when Raya was unavailable, and continued to be called up for England.
His stock went down through inactivity and he finally decided to move on to another PL club.
The reception he received at the Emirates was incredible and any true Gooner would only wish him the very best for the future.
Does he regret leaving The Arsenal?
I don’t think so, if being lied to about his future is anything to go by.
Yet another player being harshly treated by our club in my opinion.
And also disrespectful to Southampton Ken, who’ve had good international keepers in the past
Agree Jax – I wonder if our fans will ever be mindful of other clubs and their achievements?
I take a slightly different point of view from you Ken1945
Clearly, Arteta wasn’t entirely happy with Ramsdale otherwise he would have kept him on as he did start the season. Unfortunately for AR he had a poor game against Brentford and this rather sealed his fate. Promises or not, AR did not make the choice difficult for Arteta, otherwise he would have featured in cup competitions at the very least.
It is easy to be emotional about Ramsdale as there is nothing not to like about him but I can’t reconcile that feeling with wanting the best player to be the number 1 – which MA clearly thinks is the case now.
Good for him that he wants to play, rather than be sidelined. That shows his character but I do wonder what made him go to Southampton. He is, as I mentioned in a previous post, their highest paid player by quite some margin – more in fact than Raya, so that may have helped his decision making. You regard his stock going down through inactivity, but he couldn’t displace Pickford at any time. I just don’t buy into the harshly treated picture. It’s a tough business where Arsenal – the club – and its fans expect to be competing for honours. Raya features for Spain and Ramsdale wasn’t at the recent England games as a bench player although he has now been playing regularly. I happened, at the time, to feel sorry for Joe Hart being dumped by Pep, but its a results business and that’s what it boils down to. Jonas Eidevall discovered that to his cost too.
That’s the beauty of sensible discussions and opinions SueP – I acknowledge your points as being well thought out and rational.
My comeback would be that, despite Raya making mistakes, such as the one against the spuds, MA didn’t drop him and neither did we see any sign of the goalkeeper substitution that Aaron was obviously told about.
As a Arsenal supporter, I see leaving our club as a step down, but to not respect a club such as Southampton (which you haven’t done of course!) is nonsense.
Your point regarding Hart and football being a results business is valid, but when MA decided to drop Aaron, we were actually winning matches weren’t we?
That is of course true, Ken1945 that we were winning matches under Ramsdale. The hapless Joe Hart had won 2 premier league titles and was capped over 70 times for England, but that did not stop Guardiola making a change.
Comments have been made about Ramsdale being a stop gap as Raya wasn’t available. I don’t know about that, but Arteta definitely felt that Raya was his man and those early mistakes (and he did make them) appear to have been brushed under the carpet. So from that shaky start, Raya has certainly grown into the role.
Regarding trading places for Southampton, I think he was short sighted. Having just come back up again, Southampton like most former Championship sides, are likely to have a difficult time this season and for Ramsdale any potential year of struggle in the league is not an ideal stepping stone to get back into contention for England or to retain premier league status for a young man who has a lot to give
But Hart wasn’t told that there was no number 1,thst he would be given first team chances and that Pep would be looking at substituting his keepers was he?
I’m not saying that Ransdsle was the better keeper and Raya is an excellent signing, but what was Aaron supposed to do?
The very fact that MA saw him as a better keeper than Leno, despite being in two relegated sides, shows that signing for Southampton won’t put other potential suitors off if they are relegated.
My opinion is that Aaron had had enough of being lied to and grabbed the first opportunity to play regular PL football again – good luck to him.
Happy to differ Ken1945
The first or only offer was pretty generous for a club whose second top earner is on virtually half of Ramsdale’s deal. I rather suspect he has forgotten being lied to but may now consider he rushed into his move being an improvement. If relegation faces Ramsdale, he will then find himself either taking a financial hit or hoping that another PL club will want a thrice times relegated keeper. I have my doubts.
Sorry if I appear hard nosed, but I can’t get too fussed by the choices he has made. He became the second choice keeper. I wrote it was a tough place to be in. Looking at the improved competition for places in the outfield, will there be articles bemoaning the lack of future game time for White for example? Will we be bemoaning the fact that he might lose his place?
Sue, I do really appreciate you rationale and hoy you debate, it is indisputable that AR did a good job for us, What most people keep ignoring however good a shot stopper he was , he often struggled with crosses into the box. Good thing Arteta saw this and brought on Raya in my opinion despite the shaky start has now proofed to be a great shot stopper and boy, does he pluck those crosses! The end justifies the means I’d say.
Probably SueP with regards to White.
I think if White was given the same “assurance” that Ramsdale was given and they didn’t materialise, I have no doubt whatsoever, he would be off like a shot.
It’s not the competition that I take issue with, it’s the way Ramsdale and the fans were misled and I think that was the reason why Ramsdale left, along with the guarantee of first team football – money wasn’t his motivation in my opinion.
Their is Nothing like ‘”assurance” in football Ken1945 . Maybe Arteta could and should have handled it differently. Was still learning on the job! Could look like an excuse!. We have a better goalkeeper now .
I would be surprised Kenya001 if Arteta gave such assurances. Martinez who deputised for Leno – brilliantly as we all know – wanted to be assured of starting and Arteta said he couldn’t do so.
The same applies, in my mind, to the way he handled the competition that would bound to exist between Ramsdale and Raya. It seemed an odd decision at the time, bringing him in on loan if there wasn’t a real interest in signing him permanently. Raya as a premier league keeper was up against another premier league GK in Ramsdale. Both would know that chopping and changing on a weekly basis wasn’t really going to happen. One was essentially up against the other over the course of that year. It would be a dereliction in his role as manager for Arteta to make a promise like that. Raya appears to have taken a punt for a year and it worked out for him. Ramsdale on the other hand must have realised- or should have done – that he was under scrutiny and he ultimately lost his place. It’s rotten luck of course for a very likeable young man, but Arteta is paid handsomely to make those difficult decisions and has not shied away from making ruthless decisions before and I don’t think he will worry about doing so again.
Ken1945
It’s an interesting argument.
Who is undroppable ? I don’t believe any player is undroppable (is there such a word?). I used White as an example because of the talk surrounding him v Timber. Arteta has to refresh and improve the squad and any player at any time can find themselves usurped. Martinez got his chance due to Leno’s injury and so it goes. As an outfield player there is more chance of rotation but a trusted keeper is worth his weight in gold
Ken1945, For sure we will never know why Arteta said he can swap goalies in games. But he did not categorically say he’s gonna do it! Or did he? What he did say it was a ‘thought’.
Was AR lied to? It’s not certain, we never know for sure the talks btn him and the gaffer. Unless AR comes out and says otherwise or we believe the Dad.
I do Wish him all the best at soton, he is such a likable guy and the reception he received at the Emirates was a beauty to Watch.
There is no evidence that Ramsdale was lied to. This is a slur that has been trotted out so often that some have accepted it as if it is true and now use it as a debating point.
It was a risky move by Ramsdale to go to Southampton. As someone who wants to be number 1 for England he’d need to have some great performances as he’s likely to be exposed a lot.
The Times newspaper dated 24th September 2023 :
Mikel Arteta pledges to rotate his goalkeepers.
Doesn’t seem like a slur to me David and, thus, it becomes a huge debating point… unless you think Aaron Ramsdale can’t read the newspapers, or doesn’t listen to the manager’s news conferences?
MA also talks about having two No. 1 keepers and his idea about substituting keepers depending on the opposition and / or the situation of the game at half time…. again I ask you if you think Aaron read or heard these messages?
I remember the brouhaha Ken1945 but I don’t recall any promises other than Arteta saying there were plenty of opportunities with so many matches to be played over the course of the season. It seems like headlines with precious little substance.
He talked of substitutions during games too. Whether he believed that was realistic- I don’t know, although I think that is unlikely due to the circumstances of having 2 EPL keepers essentially competing for one position. He ‘may’ have thought his comments would deflect from upsetting the apple cart between the two men but in the end the opposite happened. A goalkeeper is in a unique position and Arteta would have known that. Not a great look but it was Arteta’s decision to want Raya as his number 1 as the ‘stats’ showed him to have the techniques he preferred. It was unfortunate for Ramsdale that he wasn’t able to play the way Arteta wanted but beyond that my concern is primarily what happens on the pitch.
SueP, I can only refer you to the Times newspaper that clearly stated MA pledged to rotate his keepers.
If that statement isn’t a clear indication of his thoughts then I don’t know what else to say.
By the way, he knew the way Ramsdale played when he nade that statement, so your point about Aaron not fitting into his style of play, seems to be an excuse rather than a valid point.
Excuses? Not really as I think that it wasn’t well handled (and wrote as such) in the media raising more questions than answers. His contract was enhanced which seems to be the way these days so perhaps Arteta was planning ahead making sure he had value?
It became obvious that Ramsdale wasn’t first choice fairly quickly, especially as he didn’t feature in the CL and only got a crack at the Carabao Cup which ended badly. Although Arteta rightly took responsibility for the defeat against West Ham, it didn’t give Ramsdale any game time in a future round to keep fresh and/or motivated. This was followed by playing in the 3rd round of the FACup which resulted in a home loss and no chance yet again to be the cup goalkeeper.
On this basis I believe Ramsdale was a victim of circumstance during that season. Would we be having this conversation if we’d made the later stages of both competitions with Ramsdale in goal? Would Ramsdale’s stock have stayed high giving him more than Southampton as a choice? I suspect it would. That’s why I have sympathy for his predicament
1 But MA stated that he “pledged” to ritate his two No. 1 goalkeepers – there can be no grey area there.
He didn’t and he also didn’t say that it would only be the cup games that would feature Aaron Ramsdale.
I’m someone who likes to think that, when a statement such as MA made to the press, it actually means something at our great club.
Anyway, the decision has been made by Aaron, Raya is playing the way MA wants and life goes on.
Let’s hope both keepers have successfull careers.
The old adage “Don’t believe everything you read in the newspapers” seems to apply.
Over time, Arteta made it clear that GKs could compete to play, same as other positions. If Ramsdale never made the grade then that’s not MA’s fault.
Then, when he got the chance he screwed it up.
I personally suspect there may have been something else going on. It may be just that Raya’s positives, such as being able to play with his feet outweighed any minor shot-stopping differences.
It may also be that Ramsdale’s self-confessed lack of focus and frequent horsing around with fans, annoying the opposition fans may be a factor.
I suspect it may have been a bit of all of those, or that there was some kind of rift between them.
Even small factors can come into play – the way his father behaved towards opposition supporters. He’s not an employee of AFC but in some ways, however small, his behaviour reflects on the club.
I don’t know what it was, but I do believe that there’s more to know. Ramsdale had his chances to prove himself (in training, which is what Arteta said his decisions are based on) and didn’t make it, that’s all we do know.
The other point is that it seems very difficult for a club to keep two decent GKs happy, unless one of them is “on the way up” rather than “already established”.
It looks as if this sub-thread has already run out of road, no Reply button at the bottom, so I guess this is all we can say here. Except maybe… is it possible that the software can be improved?
That is strange after only 39 comments, we have been over 100 on many threads before!
I’ll investigate and see if anything has changed….
Have you ever noticed that players that don’t play for a while become rusty ?
Even C-Roro was after being overlooked for just few matches by Ten-Hag
Even Messi will become rusty not playing week-in-week-out
Do you think, Babasola that the rustiness as an outfield player is the same as a goalkeeper?