£30m player admits he’s found the last few weeks at Arsenal really ‘difficult’

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Aaron Ramsdale has admitted that he’s found the past few weeks at Arsenal ‘difficult’ after losing his place in Mikel Arteta’s side.

Ramsdale has been speaking to The Evening Standard and opened up about how he’s been dealing with the noise surrounding him at the moment.

The 25-year-old was a mainstay for the Gunners last season after taking the number one spot from Bernd Leno the season beforehand.

He was up there with the Premier League’s best goalkeepers last time out as Arsenal narrowly missed out on the title. But he’s since lost his place in Arteta’s side following David Raya’s arrival from Brentford over the summer. 

Indeed, Ramsdale hasn’t started in the league since the 3-1 win over Manchester United on September 3 and the England international has admitted it’s been a tough few weeks for him on a personal level. 

Ramsdale opens up on ‘difficult’ spell at Arsenal

Speaking to The Evening Standard, Ramsdale was asked about the recent attention he’s been receiving in the media. 

Of course, Ramsdale’s father recently fired back at Jamie Carragher after the pundit mocked the Arsenal shot-stopper for applauding David Raya during the North London Derby.

And Ramsdale has admitted it’s been a tough few weeks for him.

“It has been difficult,” he said. “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 [also] the wrong thing! It’s a double-edged sword.

“There’s a lot of attention, a lot of talk, and it’s a position where if you’re not spoken about it means you’ve done a good job! 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 big headline.

“It’s one we’re working through as a club and one the manager puts in front of us, and we have to deal with it. That is what we are doing.

“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. It doesn’t help that my dad [wades in], but he was on a golf trip 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!

“I chose three years ago [to] turn my social media off, so a lot of things slip through the [net] for me. I know there’s a lot of noise, but it doesn’t affect me.”

Ramsdale faces a stern task in terms of breaking back into the side as Raya seems to be Arteta’s preferred choice at the moment.

The £30 million shot-stopper will also be hoping to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England side ahead of next year’s Euros. But while he’s not playing at Arsenal, that looks to be a near-impossible task. 

With that being said, Raya did look slightly shaky on the ball in Arsenal’s win over Manchester City. But for the time being, Ramsdale will have to wait patiently for his opportunity and grab it with both hands when it comes his way.