‘That’s ridiculous’: Rob Holding says he knew Arsenal 23-year-old was ‘unbelievable’ even before Arteta signed him

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Arsenal defender Rob Holding has claimed that he knew Aaron Ramsdale was an unbelievable passer of the ball much before Mikel Arteta decided to sign him.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper has surprised everyone this season. He was viewed by many as a disastrous signing, but the way he has performed since replacing Bernd Leno at the Emirates has been phenomenal.

Ramsdale has 11 clean sheets in the Premier League this season in 22 starts. He’s only behind Ederson and Alisson in the race for the Golden Glove, but he has played fewer games than the two Brazilians this season.

Arsenal fans absolutely love Ramsdale now but Holding, who has played against him in the past, knew a long time ago that he was a fantastic player.

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Rob Holding: I noticed Aaron Ramsdale’s brilliance before Arsenal signed him

Speaking about Ramsdale on Sky Sports Football’s YouTube channel, Holding said: “Unbelievable!

“When I first played against him (Ramsdale), we were playing Sheffield United away, I had McGoldrick up front. It was right in front of me and he (Ramsdale) was doing a goal kick with ball. He just zings one, like 70 yards, along the floor straight to McGoldrick’s feet.

“I was thinking ‘Oh, I didn’t expect that’. I carry on playing, about 10 minutes later, exact same thing happened again.

“I was like ‘that’s ridiculous. he’s just done that twice.'”

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Nobody really expected Ramsdale to have the kind of season he’s currently having.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta were ridiculed by many fans, pundits and members of the media for splashing a lot of money on the Englishman. Some even thought he’d be the worst signing of the season, but he has proven everybody wrong.

The Gunners are now in pole position to finish fourth. They are a point ahead of fifth-place Manchester United and have three games over them.

It’s completely in Arsenal’s hands now and if Ramsdale continues his fine form until the end of the season, they will likely get back into the Champions League after six seasons away.

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