Aaron Ramsdale reveals how he's feeling after losing Arsenal starting spot
- Ramsdale has lost his Arsenal starting spot to David Raya
- Goalkeeper admits to fearing for his place in the England squad as a result
- Mikel Arteta has praises Ramsdale for his response to being dropped
By Tom Gott
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has admitted he has been "suffering" after losing his starting spot to summer signing David Raya.
Ramsdale was benched by manager Mikel Arteta after four Premier League games this season and has since spent six of the last seven games on the bench, returning only for the Carabao Cup clash against Raya's parent side Brentford.
Clubs across Europe have been alerted to Ramsdale's situation but the goalkeeper's focus remains on battling Raya and reclaiming his spot at Arsenal.
On his relationship with Raya, Ramsdale revealed: "We work professionally really well together. We push each other in training and there's days where I come in and I'm down because of the situation and he picks me up.
"And for whatever reason there might be a day where he's down and even though I'm suffering and hurting for not playing I have to stand up and be able to push him and make sure he's ready for the weekend if he’s picked to play."
Losing his spot at club level has also done Ramsdale no favours when it comes to international football as well. England boss Gareth Southgate has long favoured Everton's Jordan Pickford and Ramsdale admitted he is scared about losing his spot in the Three Lions squad as a result of his lack of minutes.
"Yes, of course, it is the first time I have found myself in this situation," Ramsdale said when asked if he fears for his England future.
"The manager here [Southgate] is brilliant, he trusts the players he's worked with before as we've seen in different types of ways - you'll see Kalvin [Phillips] and Harry [Maguire] haven’t played the most amount of minutes but when they step up for England and are given the opportunity, they perform.
"So if if that's the case for myself and I do get shown that trust to play another game if I haven't played for my club then I will have to repay him.
"But of course, I want to get back into my club team. I want to get into my club team and be able to give the manager a headache rather than just have Jordan [Pickford] as the England number one and me fall by the wayside."
READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
feed