Aaron Ramsdale‘s three-year spell at Arsenal came to an end this summer as the goalkeeper completed a move to Southampton and fans of the Gunners should have respect for the Englishman’s reason for leaving the Emirates Stadium.
The 26-year-old joined the North London club in 2021 from AFC Bournemouth and went on to become a key member of Mikel Arteta‘s squad as Arsenal went close to winning the Premier League title during the 2022/23 campaign.
Last season the Gunners fell just short of becoming champions of England once again but this time, Ramsdale’s role was different.
The English shot-stopper featured in just six Premier League matches following the arrival of David Raya from Brentford. Four of those were before the Spaniard arrived, while the other two were against the Bees star’s parent club.
This highlights that Ramsdale was firmly a number two at Arsenal and that was not good enough for the 26-year-old.
Former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale just wants to play
Southampton and Ramsdale travel to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal this weekend and ahead of his return to North London, the goalkeeper has revealed why he left the Gunners.
“There’s not many people that I have personally met that have said ‘I wanted to win the Premier League as a kid by sitting on the bench’. As much as that would be amazing and you are in a team environment,” Ramsdale told Sky Sports.
“If I finish my career and I have played 10 years in the Premier League with four or five hundred games, or I played 150 and I won two Premier Leagues and an FA Cup by not playing for Arsenal, I would much prefer the first option.
“It was very difficult to leave that football club but when it came down to it, all I ever wanted to do was play and that is what I am doing now and I’m grateful to Southampton.”
This should earn Ramsdale respect amongst Arsenal fans as many players in modern football would have been happy sitting on the bench and collecting a paycheck every week.
The 26-year-old has ambitions to return to the top of the game and in order to do that, the Englishman needs to be between the sticks every week for a Premier League club.
“It was very difficult to leave”
Aaron Ramsdale explains why he decided to leave Arsenal ? pic.twitter.com/tZUeR3FXsJ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 5, 2024
