Former Arsenal star David Seaman has expressed his thoughts on Aaron Ramsdale’s future, stating his reluctance to see him depart but acknowledging the possibility that he may be too talented to remain a backup goalkeeper.
Arsenal legend David Seaman and Aaron Ramsdale.
Last summer, Arsenal’s loan move for David Raya from Brentford raised questions about Ramsdale’s future at the club, despite being perceived as Mikel Arteta’s primary choice in goal.
Despite costing Arsenal £30 million in 2021, Ramsdale has featured in only six Premier League games this season, partly due to Raya’s inconsistent performances.
Ramsdale had a rare opportunity to showcase his skills against Brentford last weekend, especially with the European Championships approaching.
However, he committed a crucial error just before halftime, allowing Yoane Wissa to score after hesitating with the ball, despite Declan Rice giving Arsenal the lead.
Despite the blunder, Arsenal secured victory thanks to a late goal from Kai Havertz, with Ramsdale playing a significant role in the win by making crucial saves against Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins.
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Seaman, who observed the match from Ramsdale’s box at the Emirates, acknowledged that the goalkeeper’s mistake before halftime was a significant error.
“Last weekend was tough, especially for Aaron. I was at the game and watching it from Aaron’s box. It was difficult, really difficult,” the legendary former Arsenal glovesman mentioned on the Seaman Says podcast. “To put it simply, his error is the kind of blunder you make when you’re not playing regularly and your match speed isn’t there. These are the errors made in those situations.
“Brentford were pressurising him intensely, nearly the entire game, and he ended up going a bit longer than what I’ve usually seen him do. I think it has more to do with a lack of confidence on the ball due to not playing frequently. He got trapped. He spent too much time and had an option for a wide pass but he chose to go long instead
“He got closed down and it was an extraordinarily poor error, if I’m honest. It’s strange because after that, I felt awful. The goal in front of us was met with silence and his mum and dad were there along with his wife… they were all watching and I only thought: ‘Oh no, not this game!’
“Aaron is adored by the fans. They showered him with an affectionate reception before the game as he warmed up and when he walked out to start… The fans love him because they remember his past achievements. We weren’t playing brilliantly, we weren’t really testing their goalkeeper. Okay, we’d gone one up but to do that right at the end of the first half, it knocked the stuffing out of the team I think.
“To go in, deal with that, and then Aaron’s got to go down onto the Brentford end as well where all the Brentford fans were singing: ‘You’re just a s*** David Raya!'”
Seaman was pleased with the way Ramsdale reacted to his ‘gut-wrenching’ mistake which he said underlined the ‘character’ of the player. “It shows the character of him,” he went on. “The one thing I look at is when you make a mistake, because we are going to make mistakes, and he’ll make mistakes again, how do you react afterwards?
“Can you carry on playing your normal game and help the team? And boy did he do that. His save from Toney was unreal because he had to do a lot of quick feet to get back. He’s asked to do a high line for any balls that are put through, his feet to get back to that…
“There was a good save from the header. Full stretch, fingertips, over the bar. If he misses that, you look where it’s gone, it goes in the middle of the goal. The thing I look at is how you react after that mistake and he reacted so positively, kept his team in the game and then we went on to score the winner as well.
“As much as it was really gut-wrenching to see that mistake happen, the fact that he carried on and produced just showed what sort of character he is.”
Seaman commented on Ramsdale’s position at Arsenal, drawing parallels to Bernd Leno’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen and hinting that Ramsdale might consider a move.
“I don’t know about whether he’ll leave or not, I honestly don’t know anything,” he added. “You’ve got to remember what Aaron has done for Arsenal. He’s won over the fans, everyone knows what he’s contributed to Arsenal. He stepped into a similar situation that’s happening now where he took over from Bernd Leno and it’s now happening to him, but what he’s achieved in that time has been fantastic.
“He’s made some amazing saves and I’m just thinking to myself now, ‘He’s definitely leaving’, and I don’t want him to go. But in my opinion, he’s too talented to be a No. 2. He’s still young, he’s only 24, and he’s got plenty of time to play more games and keep pushing for his England spot. This now raises the question of who will be chosen as the backup goalkeepers for the Euros in the summer.”
