Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is backing himself to become England number one in the future, insisting he has the ‘self- belief’ to make it a reality.
Ramsdale became the second most expensive English goalkeeper in history when he completed his move to Arsenal from Sheffield United for an initial £24m in August, marginally behind Jordan Pickford’s £25m transfer from Sunderland to Everton in 2017.
The 23-year-old has already established himself as Arsenal’s first choice, displacing former number one Bernd Leno when club games resumed after the September international break and conceding only once in his first four Premier League appearances for the Gunners.
Ramsdale is yet to make his senior England debut but was a late call up for the Euro 2020 squad to replace the injured Dean Henderson and was named in this month’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary as a result of his Arsenal form.
For now, he remains a back-up to Pickford, but Ramsdale has his eye on becoming England’s starter.
“I have the self-belief that, yes, I could hold down the position," he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“First and foremost, I have to get in the team and that's one of my goals at the moment. I'm just trying to learn and take it step by step but over time that's one of my aspirations.”
On landing a starting role at Arsenal, Ramsdale admits the speed of it has been a surprise.
“It is not something I expected so soon. I believed in my ability to get into the team but I thought it would take a while transitioning to the way they play, new teammates, getting into the team helping them out,” the former Bournemouth stopper explained.
Ramsdale’s rise means that Arsenal are now open to letting the displaced Leno leave. The club is happy for the German to stay but 90min understands that he has no interest in a back-up role.
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Source : 90min