Aaron Ramsdale has joined Southampton in a permanent move that could net Arsenal up to £25 million. It’s reported the Gunners will receive a guaranteed fee of £18 million, an extra £1 million if the Saints retain their Premier League status and a further £6 million in performance-related add-ons.
The England international moves to St. Mary’s after an eventful three years at Emirates Stadium during which he won over supporters but lost the faith of a manager who pushed the boat out to recruit him.
It’s fair to say there were plenty of sceptics when Ramsdale moved to Arsenal from Sheffield United in a deal worth an initial £24 million. Tasked with challenging Bernd Leno for the number one shirt, Ramsdale usurped the German within weeks of his arrival, in the process helping the Gunners regroup after a terrible start to the 21/22 campaign. While Mikel Arteta’s squad missed out on Champions League qualification, a newfound defensive solidity provided hope for the future.
After William Saliba was added to the mix, Arsenal went to the next level during the following campaign, not only qualifying for Europe’s top competition but mounting a first title challenge in 15 years to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League. Having kept 14 clean sheets, Ramsdale’s performances earned him a place in the 2022/23 PFA Team of the Year. He added three England caps to his name along the way.
Supporters took it as a given that Ramsdale would continue as the club’s first-choice keeper when pre-season resumed last summer but Mikel Arteta had other ideas. When an opportunity arose to recruit David Raya on loan from Brentford, the Spaniard pushed for the deal, even committing £27 million from his future budget to the cause. Many were left scratching their heads, not least Ramsdale who’d been awarded a new contract two months before.
While Ramsdale started the first four games of the season, Raya took over after the September Interlull and didn’t look back. Aside from two matches against parent club Brentford, the Spaniard was an ever-present between the sticks as the Gunners again went toe-to-toe with Manchester City for the title. When Ramsdale was called upon, it’s fair to say he looked rusty, short of confidence and prone to heart-in-mouth moments. While he was impressively stoic on the sidelines, it’s clear the spell on the bench took a toll, not least on his England ambitions.
During his time at Arsenal, Ramsdale put in some monumental performances and made several memorable saves. His highlight reel includes a tremendous double-stop at Leicester, a man-of-the-match performance at White Hart Lane, two barely believable saves at Anfield and many more. Of course, such is the life of a keeper, there were a few gaffes too. No keeper made more errors leading to shots in the 22/23 campaign, something that didn’t go unnoticed by his manager. Appearing on podcasts and admitting he sometimes had trouble concentrating in matches and would tactically wind up opposition fans to keep himself on his toes was also misguided.
All the same, Southampton will be delighted by their acquisition and while Ramsdale has been relegated twice before in his career, the Saints will stand a better chance of staying up with someone of his experience in goal.
We can only wish him the best for the future.
Good luck Rammers, he’ll certainly be busy down the south coast!
Ramsdale for £18m might be the bargain of the window, better than majority of premier league keepers. Hopefully we have a sell-on clause. Backing him to have a great season at Southampton, whether they stay up or not.
He is an international keeper and young. I do not understand why it is 18 millions.
There are financial constraints on every club now regarding expenditure and income, a bit of reality has set in
* Every club except the two that actually cheat…
It’s quite simple. If he was our first choice keeper, and someone wanted to buy him, it would probably have taken a bid of £80m to get it done. But he wasn’t. He needed to leave. We needed him to leave. Everyone knew. So £80m becomes £18m.
Which also becomes 25M if everything works out.
He’ll be really good for them too, always seems like the type of keeper who needs to be busy. And it suits his strengths as a shot stopper.
I really love Ramsdale and the talent and energy he brought to the team. I think he was one of most beloved players and a true fan favorite. I’m slightly disappointed that he was benched last season and that he’s now leaving. He was a charismatic and lovely character – and you sadly don’t see them often nowadays.
All the best!!!! Shows where we are that you aren’t still our number 1.
Good lad
Wishing him all the best – Sad to see him go.
He was one of my favorites in the squad, and i was very critical of the decision to bring in Raya (I am – very unlike Arteta – very sentimental and get attached to players). But Raya is the better keeper, and Aaron will make some other fans very happy.
It been a summer of tough farewells, but it is the best for everyone.
Hope Southampton stays up, Fulham have a successful campaign and Palace qualify for Europe.
For the best – good luck Aaron.
Bittersweet. Ramsdale seems like the kind of player you would want to be an Arsenal legend after retirement to stick up for us against the inevitable cunt legends of other clubs. Thankfully, we still have Ben White who I hope retires at Arsenal. But then he probably won’t say more than three sentences at a time.
Feel very bad at this announcement.
The fact that Rams has been here for barely over 3 years, of which he spent 1 year mostly on the bench and still has left such a mark on most of us fans with his amazing attitude is a testament to his character. He has been an amazing personality for us. Wish him the very best.
I will miss him. I know Arteta’s ruthless, but I just felt Aaron has this spark that makes fans love him. Good luck, I’ll miss you.
Best of luck to him
Thank you for your contribution to the Arsenal, Aaron Ramsdale. Wishing you all the best for the present and future.
On another note, as things stand, Eddie N is still on Arsenal’s payroll, with his proposed move to Palace not having been signed off, yet alone announced. I wonder if this proposed move will only happen if and when Arsenal are in a position to announce the signing of another forward player today. Will Eddie N still be an Arsenal player come the end of this transfer window? Hmmm.
It should be fun for the Arsenal fans behind the goal when we play against Southampton. Bet he’ll love the banter.
Very sad to see him go. He was as instrumental as anyone in changing the mood and the connection between team and supporters in 2022-23. Deserves success and I wish him all the best. Hope he gets a massive reception when he comes back with Southampton.
well, there are a lot of former arsenal keepers in the league. martinez at villa, turner at forrest, leno at fulham, and even fabianski at west ham. now, there’s ramsdale at southampton. counting arsenal, 30% of the league has keepers who have played for arsenal…all of them are or have recently been first choice. ramsdale is simply too good to not play and i assumed too expensive for a team that wasn’t fighting for europe. i didn’t believe this move would happen. kinda sad to see him go as he clearly loved being an arsenal player, but business is business.… Read more »
But wait…, aren’t we going to have two equally strong keepers? Aren’t we going to change the goalie duiring games?
I remember seeing a video taken by Leeds fans behind Ramsdale’s goal. He was winding their fans up, and they were turning the air blue with every imaginable insult and a few unimaginables too. But the poster’s caption to the cartoon expressed nothing but admiration for Ramsdale, along the lines that you go to a match hoping that your team wins, but expecting to be entertained, and that Ramsdale is a great sport and a great entertainer, in addition to his goalkeeping skills, and that he’s not aloof from the punters.
𝖼̶𝖺̶𝗋̶𝗍̶𝗈̶𝗈̶𝗇̶ video. Where was my head?
I’d almost be happy with 80 per cent possession and leaving St Mary’s with a 0-0 draw this season if Ramsdale is playing. Good luck, Aaron and thanks for the good times as well as the nail-bitting what-the-fuck-did-he-do-there moments too. It’s what makes the game so special.
I do fear he’s destined for yet another relegation