Aaron Ramsdale has confessed he had a ‘ridiculous’ way of finding out whether Arsenal were interested in him.
But it turns out his unorthodox method involved Gunners star Bukayo Saka.
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Rewind to the summer of 2021, and the goalkeeper, relegated with Sheffield United, was told of possible interest from the north London club from his agent.
Wanting to find out more beyond the little information he’d received, he was then presented with the perfect opportunity when he bumped into Saka in a coffee shop.
Describing the situation to The Players’ Tribune, he wrote: “So the next day, I ran into Bukayo Saka getting a coffee, and I didn’t know him that well yet, so I thought, ‘Surely I can’t ask him, right?’
“I mean, what am I supposed to say? ‘Morning, Bukayo. How you getting on? Erm. Would you happen to know if your football club is interested in me?’ Ridiculous.
“So yeah, that’s exactly what I did.”
And it turns out Saka had played a key part in getting that ‘interest’ going.
“He told me that it was real, and that the manager had actually rang him to ask about my character and what I was like as a person. I guess Bukayo must have told him that I was a decent lad, because I got a call from my agent a few days later that the transfer was happening.
“Unreal. Arsenal Football Club. One of the best days of my life. My mates are all texting me. You legend. You legend. Family is over the moon. How can it get any better?”
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But despite his bold move to approach Saka paying off, Ramsdale says the only thing he can remember from the transfer rumour is ‘the entire world telling me that I was absolute sh*t‘.
He received a heavy amount of criticism and even abuse as news of the possible move spread.
” I go to my Twitter, and I see that the news has leaked, and I am getting absolutely roasted,” he said.
And even pundits on Sky he’d watched growing up were involved.
Recalling the comments, Ramsdale said: “‘Poor signing. Not good enough for Arsenal’, ‘Too much money. I don’t like it’, ‘Two relegations? £24 million?'”
But Ramsdale has more than persevered through adversity and cemented himself as a fan favourite and was part of England’s 2022 World Cup squad.
Since replacing no.1 Bernd Leno in the 2021/22 season, Ramsdale played 78 times was ever presnet in the title race last campaign.
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