Why Aaron Ramsdale mustn’t join Southampton if he decides to leave
It was reported today that Southampton are looking to sign Arsenal goalie Aaron Ramsdale in a deal that could be worth up to £30 million.
The Saints would have to meet his £120,000 weekly pay which would mean he would become the most highly paid player at St.Marys but would it be worth it?
Russell Martin’s army have only just been promoted back to the Premier League at first go after having been relegated from the 2022/23 season and there’s no guarantee that they will stay up as newbie’s either- this is the least he needs on his plate especially after last season!
Despite starting last campaign as Arsenals first choice keeper within five games he was replaced by David Raya on loan who has now signed permanently for The Gunners, making Ramsdale’s future uncertain at The Emirates.
The backup England goalie mentioned before the Euros that he won’t tolerate the treatment any longer;: “no footballer wants to not play. I’ve had a tough year personally not playing and I never want to do that again, it was tough, it was tough.
“But I have a release now, I’m now here, I’ve got the greatest honour, the greatest badge on my chest, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I play a minute or no minutes, it will be the pinnacle for me, the best day ever.”
He has also been linked to Chelsea and Newcastle United who will surely outperform Southampton next season.
Ramsdale shouldn’t sell himself short for Southampton just because he would be guaranteed first team action at the side who are looking to write off Gavin Bazunu for an experienced Premier League goalie. There are a number of goalies with Premier League experience who would fit the bill but Ramsdale shouldn’t be preyed upon.
Ramsdale was Arsenals main goalie for two years which saw him and the club at one stage at the top of the Premier League table during the 2022/23 campaign for a number of months before slipping up late on in the season, before second was achieved. For a fact he has been at the Premier Leagues second best club for the past two years as well. He also had the highest number of clean sheets approaching the halfway stage of the 2022/23 season demonstrating his worth and talent as a keeper despite his few individual blunders last year when selected by Mikel Arteta.
Yes Ramsdale could go to Southampton and go onto become their highest paid footballer but he’s certainly better than a team which has only just regained Premier League status. If they struggled to maintain their position in the table he could be used as a scapegoat which could potentially finish off his career!
This is something Arsenal and Arteta must surely be aware of and take into consideration before they accept his potential notice. Chelsea and Newcastle may not be fighting for the Premiership title next year but they definitely won’t be scrapping it out at the bottom of the table either.
Liam Harding
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What a load of drivel, saints have been a in the premier league for a long time. A poor couple of seasons and you are making out the are a side who has just joined the league for the first time
Bazunu is out injured for a year, Ramsdale just wants to play, a loan with an option to buy would be best suited- wouldn’t want to see him at Chelsea or Newcastle
For the saints the deal could be easily worth many times that cost if it means the difference between staying in the PL and going down again, which imo is very possible as Ramsdale can be that much of a difference maker. Look at what Pickford has done for Everton in the past. From Ramsdale’s perspective, he must play somewhere now and starting for any premier league club is sufficient for what he needs to showcase.
Frankly, I don’t see how/why Arsenal need concern themselves about how good or bad a possible transfer to Southampton for Ramsdale may be as the article suggests. Both Ramsdale and his agent are grown-ups and can surely take that into account in deciding what to do.
Once a player decides to leave Arsenal (or any club) to join another then any duty of care (or whatever you want to call it) ends. This is professional football after all. The only input Arsenal have is to decide whether to accept the fee offered – and if it’s £30m I think they should probably take it.
👍
If Soton become Leicester 2.0 next season, he’d be sorry not to join them
Russell Martin could follow Ranieri’s or Alonso’s footsteps
Actually, maybe Leicester 2.5 since it was their 2nd season back in the PL before they shocked the world, lol. What a great final day of the season that was for our Gunners. Thanks Newcastle.
😂
Would be better off at Southampton where he will get game time in the Premier League and no need for disparaging remarks from Arsenal fans after all you always struggle to beat Saints So respect please.
Well who ever did this right up need there head check , for a keeper want game time instead of sitting on a bench I respect that a lot , which ever club he goes too , even he went to Southampton you never know what they could achieve.
Far better off at Southampton playing every weekbthan sat twiddling his thumbs on the bench for Arsenal. Stupid title.
Well, two points. 1. With Saints he’ll get plenty of opportunity to show how good he is. 2. I guess the author is talking about the Southampton team that was 3-1 up at 90mins at Emirates the year they went down and which punctured the Gunners title hopes. Maybe we’ll be ok.
Very arrogant post. Saints one of the longest top league members over last 50 years.
We also stopped you winning the prem and you always become unstuck at st Mary’s.
What about our 4 consecutive top 8 finishes including 6 th under Poch and Koeman.
Wind yer neck in
So Pickford was bought for £25 million like 5 years ago, so Ramsdale should be at least worth +£40 million, yes?
Not really, I think, because Ramsdale is clearly second choice at Arsenal (which is why he wants out) and if Southampton are the only interested club – which they appear to be currently – then it’s sell or retain someone who’d much rather be elsewhere playing regularly for a club.
If he was first choice at Arsenal then they would be able to ask, and very probably receive, a bigger fee. To an extent though, Arsenal have got themselves into this by relegating Ramsdale to second choice and then trying to sell him a year after his replacement arrived. Not very good (transfer) tactics in my opinion.
Your last two sentences are especially insightful and are a big part of what makes me wonder what the true story may have been in the Raya/Ramsdale saga. An explanation of too late in the transfer window wouldn’t/shouldn’t cut it here.
No, we have devalued him, by sitting him on the bench. Who’s going to pay £40mil?
And how have we increased his value?
Reggie
Ramsdale isn’t worth £40m whether he was Arsenal’s first choice or second choice keeper
Sue, he could be worth 50 mil, if we had played him. Or at least played him in the cups.
If that was the case Reggie, I doubt that Arteta would have demoted him and – without angering Southampton fans – there hasn’t so far been huge interest in signing Ramsdale.
I agree that cup games should have seen Ramsdale wear the jersey. Perhaps Arteta was scrutinising Raya but it wasn’t great that AR didn’t feature
You always get this Sue. People will make these great declarations about how good someone is and then there is no interest from any clubs who can afford decent fees (most of the prem and top sides in Europe) and they just complain about the fee. Guendouzi is a great example.
ESR is the opposite side of the coin. Palace and Fulham are very interested in him. Although interestingly to replace Olise/Willian which I think highlights ESR’s issue at Arsenal his best position is LW.
Earning 100-odd grand a week playing football for Southampton doesn’t sound like the worst living in the world! Why not do it?
Would be a great move for him ,Southampton are a solid club where he will play regularly ,if he keeps up his performances who knows we could see him back here after Arteta goes .
Was treated badly .
Why is he treated badly?
Because he has to sit on the bench as second choice
Right or wrong MA made his choice
In the end and stuck with Raye.
AR is 23, still learning his trade and in 3 or 4 seasons will hopefully be a top and more consistent keeper.
Right now he doesn’t want to wait around and I don’t blame him if another avenue opens up and he gets playing time.
In the mean time he is still under contract and he will still pick up his £120k a week.
It’s a tough life
The voice of reason Allanball08
Lols
Arteta didn’t treat Ramsdale badly at all.
What I love about Arteta is that he puts the club first, and he was proven right!
I think too many of our fans confuse ruthlessness with ill-treatment, and that stems from the Wenger period where players were mollycoddled, and fans got far too used to it.
Arsenal first, and that’s what Arteta does.
Yes he is very ruthless in spending and losing Kroenke’s money.
So if spending money is unacceptable, as you seem to be implying, how else should have MA closed the gap on City and Liverpool? Academy players? More free transfers?
How was he proven right ,did we win something with Raya between the posts ,I’ve seen no upgrade between the 2 .
As for putting the club first I’m not so sure of that .
So you’re theory is that because we won nothing, then no individual player was better than the previous season. That’s an insane way of looking at things for sure.
What a load of nonsense this article is. Poorly researched drivel.
Bazunu is a long term injury for one, but the main point being that the author of this article is showing his own personal arrogance in stating what would be best for Ramsdale. Surely playing every game, where he’s sure to be busy in the majority of games is better than getting splinters in his arse sitting on the Arsenal bench.
How many times his teams have been relegated again? If Pickford can get the GK job for England playing for Everton, why not Aaron should back himself to play for Ston and make a claim? As long as we make our investment back, or close, we should let him go for his sake and ours
let him go for his own good, can’t stay here
Ramsdale should join Saints straight away. Binned off by Arse Nul, he will be loved at St Mary’s for sure, and will become a club legend. Sign straight away, Saint Aaron!
I don’t really care where Ramsdale goes as long as they can pay Arsenal’s price. We need money to invest elsewhere.
If Ramsdale wants the move then let him go. He’ll surely be the number one there, so good luck to him.
Ramsdale’s dedication to his craft as a professional goalkeeper is truly inspiring. His commitment to perfecting his skills is admirable and sets a great example for aspiring athletes everywhere.
I can already see it now. Arsenal travel to our annual banana peel at st Mary’s and ramsdale puts in a MOTM performance.
Arteta may be an amazing manager but his expertise in the goal keeping department seems pretty poor.