Arsenal journalist Charles Watts has given his view on the future of Aaron Ramsdale at the club following his move during the window.
In perhaps one of the more intriguing deals in the transfer window, the Gunners forked out up to £30m to bring in the 23-year-old from Sheffield United during a summer in which they were particularly busy when it came to bringing players on board.
The Ramsdale move was one that brought out a lot of questions from some within the game, with the price being a particular sticking point for someone who, judging by the fact he started their game in the Carabao Cup against West Bromwich Albion and was on the bench for their Premier League fixtures with Chelsea and Manchester City, will be starting his time at Arsenal as backup to Bernd Leno.
However, speaking on his show, Watts, as part of a discussion about the future of some of the club’s summer signings, felt that Arsenal fans wouldn’t have to wait much longer until they saw him between the sticks on a regular basis:
“You would say [Takehiro] Tomiyasu, Ramsdale, [Albert Sambi] Lokonga and [Nuno] Tavares are very much more ones for the future, although I don’t think it’ll be too long until we see Aaron Ramsdale installed as Arsenal’s number one.”
TIF Thoughts on Charles Watts’ comments about Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal…
Do you think £30 million is a fair price for Ramsdale?
Yes
No
As previously mentioned, it did seem like a strange amount of money for the club to spend on a backup goalkeeper, but with Leno’s long-term future at the club very much in doubt – with the goalkeeper himself saying previously that he’s open to new adventures – it was always going to be inevitable that someone would take over soon.
But given the amount of money that Arsenal invested in Ramsdale, you would hope that he would be starting straight away rather than before ‘too long’. If you make that kind of investment in a player, especially when that money could and perhaps should have been spent elsewhere, then there is no point just letting him sit on the bench and wait for his turn.
And having spent the past two seasons as a number-one goalkeeper in the Premier League, it’s not as if he has to be eased into it or is likely to need adjusting to avoid a horror start like Heurelho Gomes did during his early days at Tottenham Hotspur, so they may as well get their money’s worth and play him as soon as the international break is over.
In other news: ‘This is the beginning of the end’ – Charles Watts claims 26 y/o may not play for Arsenal again