Is Aaron Ramsdale the next great English goalkeeping talent, or should he count himself lucky to have attracted the interest of a club like Arsenal? It is a curious reality of his young career that, really, it could be argued either way.
Ramsdale’s detractors will point to the three relegations he has experienced in the last four seasons. His defenders will note that he has won individual club awards (young player of the year on loan at Wimbledon, supporters’ player of the year at Bournemouth, player of the year at Sheffield United) in each of the last three years.
If it all seems rather unclear, then at least one statement can be made with absolute conviction: Arsenal regard him as talented enough to become their long-term number one. They have agreed to pay Sheffield United an initial £24m for the 23-year-old, a figure which could rise to £30m if various requirements are met.
Ramsdale will no doubt start his Arsenal career as backup to Bernd Leno, but his time will surely come sooner rather than later. The succession plan has been drawn. Leno has two years remaining on his contract and there have been no indications that he will be receiving, or indeed wanting, a new deal any time soon.
Given Arsenal’s challenging financial circumstances, it is a reflection of their faith in Ramsdale that they have been willing to make such an investment. They are backing him to develop into one of the league’s outstanding goalkeepers, and they are backing themselves to help him get there.
Ramsdale, it should be said, has time on his hands. Of the goalkeepers to play at least 15 matches in the Premier League last season, only Leeds United’s Illan Meslier is younger, while the average age of last season’s regular goalkeepers is 29.
To those with expertise in the art of shot-stopping, Ramsdale is already at a commendable Premier League level. John Harrison, a goalkeeping analyst who helps professional clubs to scout goalkeepers, describes him as being in “the middle of the pack” in the top flight.
THREAD:
#Ramsdale to
#Arsenal
It will be interesting to see how
#Ramsdale gets on at
#AFC & how his game evolves.
One thing
#AFC know they are getting is a quality 1v1 stopper!
My model suggests
#Ramsdale’s 1v1 prowess saved
#SUFC ~3 goals more than an average
#PL GK would’ve!
pic.twitter.com/MZFmNVmsGB
— John Harrison (@Jhdharrison1)
August 19, 2021
Some of his attributes, Harrison says, are outstanding. Ramsdale excels in close-range situations, using his agility and spreading his frame. His reactions are quick and he is capable of getting down to his corners at speed.
At the same time, there are concerns over his positioning — “he can get a little too high up on the ball,” says Harrison — and he occasionally falls victim to an “arm swing” problem that troubles other goalkeepers, such as Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga.
In these incidents, goalkeepers throw their arms behind their backs in order to build momentum when they dive, costing them a crucial split-second when the shot arrives.
There will also be worries about Ramsdale’s save percentage for Bournemouth and Sheffield United in the last two seasons. He stopped just 68.5 per cent of shots in those campaigns, putting him 19th in the Premier League on this metric.
Such figures are to be viewed with scepticism, though, as they do not take into account the fact that some goalkeepers generally face far more easier shots than others, depending on their side’s defending.
For Arsenal, the journey to Ramsdale started in June last year, in a match against Brighton. Leno was injured that day, and his subsequent absence allowed backup goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez an opportunity to thrive in the remainder of the season.
It was a chance Martinez seized with both hands, performing so well that his days as a second choice were over. Aston Villa made an offer of around £20 million, and
Arsenal chose to cash in rather than offering him a new deal and demoting Leno to the role of highly-paid number two.
At the time, this was a move that seemed to suit all parties. But it presented Arsenal with a problem which they have not been able to solve until now. With Martinez gone, they needed another reliable backup goalkeeper. They targeted Brentford’s David Raya, bidding around £10m, and would almost certainly have gone back for the Spaniard if he had not been promoted to the Premier League.
With Raya unavailable, the short-term solution last year was Icelandic goalkeeper Alex Runarsson, who has failed to impress after his £1m move from Dijon. Brighton’s Mat Ryan came in on a loan in January to provide a more trustworthy option, but he was not considered a long-term solution.
All of which eventually led Mikel Arteta and Iñaki Caña, his goalkeeping coach, to Ramsdale, who joined Sheffield United for £18m last summer after a year in the top flight with Bournemouth and loan spells at Chesterfield and Wimbledon.
Ramsdale counts as a “homegrown” player, enjoyed an impressive end to the season last year, despite relegation, and was called into England’s Euros squad following an injury to Dean Henderson.
It says plenty about Sheffield United’s regard for their goalkeeper that they initially demanded £40m. Arsenal talked them down, eventually, but the agreed fee is still enough to raise more than a few eyebrows across the game. In time, the moment will come when Ramsdale must prove these doubters wrong.
Ramsdale's strengths and weaknesses analysed
Excels at close range
Ramsdale has a valuable ability to spread himself, using his full frame to smother shots from close range. “With close range shots, he is unbelievable,” says goalkeeper analyst John Harrison. “Ramsdale has good agility and reflexes.”
#Ramsdale’s strength vs close range 1v1s is down to his lightning fast speed of thought & speed off the line in combination with his wonderful bravery & tidy spread technique.
This save vs
#Wolves is a good example
Rambo creates a huge barrier & snuffs out an excellent chance!
pic.twitter.com/wyIBBhycwI
— John Harrison (@Jhdharrison1)
August 19, 2021
Can struggle when faced with striker
“One of Ramsdale’s weaknesses last year was in long-range one versus ones against a striker,” says Harrison. “Against Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, for example, he rushed out and halved his reaction time without getting close to the ball. He turned a shot from 20 yards into a shot from eight years, and he could not react in time.”
Problems with his 'arm swing'
Like some other goalkeepers in the Premier League, Ramsdale occasionally throws his arms back behind his body before diving to save a shot. “Your arms can end up behind you and you can lose reaction time,” says Harrison. “If you mistime it, your arms are all over the place.”
Must adapt to a different style of play
Arteta’s approach requires a goalkeeper who is capable of playing short passes out of defence. Ramsdale was attuned to this style at Bournemouth but operated in a totally different system at Sheffield United, where just 16 per cent of his passes were short. Leno, by contrast, played short with 66 per cent of his passes last season.
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Shame, he isn't around anymore.