Aaron Ramsdale thinks World Cup will come too soon for him to start

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Aaron Ramsdale has told The Yours, Mine, Away Podcast that he believes that the World Cup has probably come around too soon for the Arsenal goalkeeper to be Gareth Southgate’s number one.

In 2018, Arsenal had one player named in the Three Lions’ squad. This time around however, there may well be a number of representatives from the Gunners’ ranks.

Bukayo Saka is surely going to be starting games in Qatar. And Emile Smith Rowe would have surely been knocking on the door were it not for injury.

Ramsdale thinks the World Cup will come around too soon for him to start

Ben White meanwhile, has to be in contention. The centre-back has been a revelation on the right for Mikel Arteta’s side so far this season.

Another name who will surely be going to the tournament is Ramsdale. The goalkeeper has been absolutely outstanding over the last 12 months. He is now the undisputed number one at the Emirates.

He also boasts a handful of caps for his country. However, it does appear that he is not expecting to be playing a lot over the winter, as things stand.

“I think the World Cup personally is six months too soon for me to really challenge,” he told The Yours, Mine, Away Podcast.

“And I’ve said this a few times, it’s not really for people to go: ‘oh no, you should be number one’. I’m being realistic, I’ve played three times for England with a World Cup coming in six weeks. I’m not really going to play.

“But that’s not me throwing the towel in. I’m fighting to be that starting goalkeeper. But if I’m not, I’ll support whoever is the best that I can.”

It is hard to imagine Southgate opting for anyone over Jordan Pickford. Pickford has been excellent for England for a number of years. And he has produced some colossal performances for Everton in recent months.

Perhaps no single player did more to keep Everton in the Premier League last season than Pickford. So it is difficult to see him losing his spot.

But there is a place in the squad up for grabs for Ramsdale. Certainly, plenty of Arsenal fans will be baffled if he is not on the plane to the tournament.