Aaron Ramsdale left Arsenal on Transfer Deadline Day.
It had been clear for sometime that Aaron Ramsdale was not in Mikel Arteta’s plans for Arsenal and that there would be a shake up in the goalkeeper department this summer.
That began with signing David Raya on a permanent basis, following his stint on loan at the Emirates Stadium from Brentford last season.
Then, before Ramsdale’s exit could be sanctioned, the North London club needed to line up a replacement.
Arsenal wanted Joan Garcia to replace Ramsdale. The Espanyol shot-stopper was the club’s first choice to come in an offer support for Raya whilst potentially also being prepared to become the Gunners’ No. 1 at some stage in the future.
However, Arsenal were unable to get a deal done for Garcia, which led to a late scramble to secure back up for Raya. Late in the window, Arsenal held talks with four goalkeepers, before ultimately signing Neto on loan from Bournemouth.
Why Arsenal almost kept Aaron Ramsdale
Until a deal for Neto was signed, sealed, and delivered, Arsenal were in danger of ending the window with only one established senior goalkeeper in their squad.
The Gunners’ struggle to land Garcia also threatened to derail Ramsdale’s departure, before sporting director Edu took decisive action.
Speaking on the Arsecast Extra podcast, journalist James McNicholas has now lifted the lid on how Arsenal’s search for a new goalkeeper came to a head.
He said: “Joan Garcia was the choice of the goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana. He had rejected a lot of alternatives and vetoed a number of different goalkeepers who had been proposed.
“That was kind of the bind they found themselves in, they’d absolutely committed to this player, on the goalie coach’s say so, they sort of promised him they were going to come and get him out of there and they couldn’t.
“It basically became an impasse, and Arsenal were very, very, very seriously in danger of having to pull the plug on Ramsdale’s deal. Aaron Ramsdale was in Southampton waiting for paperwork from Arsenal that took 24 hours to arrive.
“Edu, in the end, kind of put his foot down and said, ‘right, we’re going to do Neto.’”
Inaki Cana was known to want Garcia, and it seems that the goalkeeper coach had his heart set upon the Espanyol ace to the exclusion of any alternatives.
Ramsdale’s Arsenal legacy
Ramsdale needed to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer for the good of his own career. Having been usurped by Raya last season, the England international had to avoid another campaign spent on the bench.
He will get regular game time for Southampton, but will be hoping that his decision to join a newly-promoted side won’t come back to haunt him.
Ramsdale had some excellent moments in an Arsenal shirt, and established himself as a fan favourite, but now was the right time to say goodbye.
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