After a full season on the bench for Arsenal and after months of speculation Aaron Ramsdale has finally found his feet at a new club.
His return to the South Coast has not been easy. Southampton failed to register a win in the Premier League until their tenth game and currently sit at the bottom of the table.
For the fourth time he is at a club fighting for survival in the league. During his time at Bournemouth, his loan spells at Chesterfield FC and AFC Wimbledon ended with their relegation, and his time at the Cherries was brought to a halt when they dropped out of the Premier League. His next club and former academy, Sheffield United, also slipped from the topflight during his final season with the Yorkshire team.
This background will serve him in good stead to cope with the psychological rigours of a relegation fight. He’s spoken about preferring to play at any club in the premier league, rather than waiting on the bench, even if it could mean not getting a league winner medal.
This move has also brought him back into contention for the England squad, originally ousting Nick Pope for Lee Carsley’s final Nations League squad, however, he fractured his finger in the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, meaning James Trafford moved up from the under-21s to replace him.
The 26-year-old has played nine games for Southampton and has conceded almost two thirds of their goals this season.
The Saints are third overall for attempted goalkeeper passes. With Ramsdale responsible for 382 of them. Caomhin Kellerher who has also only played 9 games has 281, there appears to be no correlation between league position and number of goalkeeper passes.
Southampton tend to play a back three, with Ramsdale mostly passing to and receiving from Bednarek on the left. The more central Harwood-Bellis is his other partner at the back. However, when the team is under pressure, Ramsdale will kick higher towards the midfielders.
Ramsdales worst two Games were against two of his former clubs, Arsenal and Bournemouth with him facing six shots on target and conceding three against both.
Close Up on Arsenal
The ball is given away by Downes and Havertz speeds towards goal, he shoots almost on the penalty spot and Ramsdale who has moved forward off his line is unable to dive quick enough at such close range.
The ball is out wide with Saka, all the Southampton defence are looking towards it and expecting a shot into the box. None of them have noticed Martinelli on the far side getting into position for a cross. He runs across completely unmarked, and into the path of the ball. Ramsdale is focussed on Saka and the players in the box and doesn’t seem to notice Martinelli until he turns to follow the flight of the ball. He tries to save it, but he’s so close to the post that he can’t fully dive and the ball slips through. At no point does he check over his shoulder for danger at the near post.
Gabriel Jesus is trying to break and is successfully dispossessed by Yukinari Sugawara, who tries to dribble the ball across the box but is neatly cut off by Saka who now has a clear shot at goal, from about 8 yards, although Ramsdale is well-placed, he just can’t get down quick enough.
For the most part, Ramsdale is let down by his defence, who cannot keep up with the Arsenal players. The second goal had the best chance of being saved if he had been more aware of his surroundings. For the other two he chose to hang back and dive, slight chance that coming out and spreading could have put the striker off.
Against Bournemouth the defence struggled with anticipating moves, leaving clear paths for the striker to put the ball in the net as well as paying attention to the run of play.
His best games were against Manchester City and Everton, where he stopped seven out of eight shots on target for City and all five of Everton’s shots.
City- started with breaks, but towards the later stages, there were more scrambles in the box. Ramsdale’s position and willingness to take on strikers 1 v 1 meant that he kept the goal tally right down, only conceding due to a ball ricocheting off a falling Haaland at close range.
Against Everton, he had an excellent top-hand save from Mangala, and a scrappy but effective tussle with Michael Keane at the post. He managed to save a Lindstrom free kick, but not without a yellow card for a foul on Beto.
Jack Harrison attempted to chip him but was foxed by a successful spread. This spread technique was less successful against Beto, who scored, but the goal was ruled out.
Having his on pitch decisions accepted by the manager seems to be important to him, he states in a Daily Echo article that
“The manager wants me to play but I’m the one who’s on the pitch. If I’ve got a reason, he’ll accept it. It’s my job as the last line, I’m going to make decisions.”
Russel Martin confirmed that Ramsdale’s opinion would be important to the team saying
“I told him about the input he would have day to day in terms of him having an opinion and feeling like his opinion is valid. Hopefully, he’s felt all of that.”
In an interview with BBC Sport, the 26-year-old says he’s happy to play at the lower end of the league if it means he gets more game time.
He also talks about there being “less noise” However less media attention on the Saints, does not’ negate the pressure from the fans to avoid relegation. Although his current injury relieves that pressure, from a personal point of view he must be frustrated that he is missing out on being able to make an impact.
Ramsdale seems to have taken inspiration from fellow England goalkeeper Mary Earps declaring that his move to the Saints was “Being myself unapologetically” and underlined his confidence in making the right choices for both him and his career.
On a personal level, he was attracted to the role because not only does he have a house in the area, but he knows the squad well, turning up in fancy dress to support them at Wembley at the championship playoffs.
It’s already been a strange season, with a late start, injury and now the uncertainty of a new manager. However, the injury could work out in his favour, as the new manager is unlikely to judge him on the team’s recent results and will likely be keen to get him back between the sticks. In the meantime, Ramsdale, in his punditry debut on TNT Sports has said he is hoping to get a start this week, under interim manager Simon Rusk.