Aaron Ramsdale says he is “suffering and hurting” at the loss of his status as Arsenal’s No 1 goalkeeper to David Raya as he opened up on the no-win nature of the scrutiny he has felt on the bench.
Ramsdale, overlooked by Gareth Southgate for England’s friendly win over Australia last Friday – the manager picked Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone – has had a camera trained on him during Arsenal games, showing his reactions to whatever Raya does.
When Raya saved well from Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson during last month’s north London derby, Ramsdale was shown applauding with his hands above his head, which drew a jokey comment from Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports.
The pundit said Ramsdale reminded him of “when someone loses the Oscar and they start clapping and smiling for the other person”, which brought the red mist down on Ramsdale’s father, Nick. He tweeted that Carragher was a “disgrace,” urging him to “show some class, my lad has”.
Ramsdale started the season ahead of Raya, who Arsenal signed from Brentford in August on an initial loan. But Mikel Arteta has selected Ramsdale only once since the September international break – against Brentford in the Carabao Cup.
“Because it’s one of the first times it’s happened with the situation, it has been difficult,” Ramsdale said, with regard to the attention on his reactions on the bench. “There are times where you’re doing the right thing but it’s the wrong thing and if you don’t do it, it’s the wrong thing. So it’s a double-edged sword.
“There’s a lot … a lot of attention. It’s a position where it’s famously said if you’re not spoken about, it means you’ve done a good job. There’s a lot of talk at the minute.
“Whether it is me or David who plays we need to be able to just focus and play but at the same time, it’s a strange, big headline. It’s one that we’re working through as a club and it’s one that the manager puts in front of us and we have to deal with it. That is what we are doing.”
Aaron Ramsdale (left) with David Raya before the Spaniard started Arsenal’s game at Bournemouth. Photograph: Matt Impey/Shutterstock
Ramsdale insisted that his relationship with Raya was good. “We are with each other for three or four hours a day – there are four or five of us in that [goalkeeper] group so if we don’t get on it wouldn’t work.
“We work professionally really well together. We push each other in training and there’s days where I come in and I’m down because of the situation and he picks me up. And for whatever reason there might be a day where he’s down and even though I’m suffering and hurting for not playing I have to stand up and be able to push him.”
Ramsdale admitted his father’s outburst at Carragher was not ideal, although he is able to blot out distractions on social media.
“This isn’t the first time my name has been in the press and it has been more negative stuff so I have drowned it out before,” Ramsdale said. “It doesn’t help that my dad does it but he was on a golf trip in Spain with 19 other lads from the local pub.
“To be honest, I wasn’t too mad at him. He didn’t say anything out of turn. It just wasn’t helpful for the situation, he knew that. He obviously just had a few too many on the golf course!
“It’s a decision I chose three years ago with my social media … turning things off. So a lot of things slip through the wayside for me. I know there’s a lot of noise but it doesn’t affect me.”
Southgate’s England No 1 is Jordan Pickford, who started against Italy in Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier. Ramsdale might have expected to play against Australia but it felt as though his demotion at club level influenced Southgate’s decision to look at Johnstone. Southgate has stood by the defender Harry Maguire and the midfielder Kalvin Phillips despite their lack of minutes for Manchester United and City respectively.
“Sam played in this camp, I played the camp before [against Scotland],” Ramsdale said. “The manager is going to look at everyone who’s available. For me, I need to get back into my club team to keep getting picked [for England] and keep giving the manager a headache because if I’m not, then that’s an easier decision for him.”
