The other day, there was a debate concerning Mikel Arteta’s handling of Aaron Ramsdale after his dad’s lamentation over his situation at the Emirates.
There is uncertainty over whether the Englishman will be reinstalled as Arsenal’s No. 1, or if he will have to go elsewhere to be a first choice.
As Ramsdale continues to be a hot topic, Graeme Souness has provided his assessment of his Arsenal future. The ex-Liverpool star advises Ramsdale to stay put at Arsenal, start fighting his own battles (not using his dad), put in the hard work, be ready to take all criticism, and who knows, he may end up gaining himself a slot back in the starting 11.
Souness argues that Ramsdale could take encouragement from Harry Maguire’s turnaround at Manchester United, going from being overlooked to becoming Ten Hag’s most trusted player.
In his Daily Mail column, Souness said: “It is time for Aaron Ramsdale to do his own fighting, rather than his dad doing it for him after his appearance on a podcast this week.
“The Arsenal goalkeeper has to show what he is made of and deal with the situation in which he finds himself. Mikel Arteta fancies David Raya more than he does Ramsdale right now, but that can change.
“I would ask him to look at the example of Harry Maguire. He took all the criticism on the chin, all the disappointment. He dealt with it and finds himself back in the team at Manchester United.
“For Ramsdale, this is a tough mental challenge. He cannot point to anything he’s done wrong on a consistent basis that has cost him his place in the team.
“Sport at the highest level can be cruel and can be seen to be unfair. But there is only one person who can right that perceived injustice—and it’s not Ramsdale’s dad.”
With the Euros next summer, it will be tough for Ramsdale to continue warming the bench, knowing he could lose his spot in the England squad. He’s still young and at 25, he can still be patient and prove to Arteta that he can be trusted to retake the Arsenal No. 1 role, and still go ahead and be England’s first choice in the years to come.
If Maguire could play himself back to relevancy, Ramsdale can too. Is that good advice from Souness?
Daniel O
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