Aaron Ramsdale says he 'never wants to go through a season not playing again' in clear message to Mikel Arteta as Arsenal goalkeeper admits it's been a 'tough year' after losing his place in the team to David Raya

Aaron Ramsdale as sent a clear message to Arsenal man ager Mikel Arteta, saying he never wants to spend another season sat on the bench again. 

Ramsdale enjoyed two good seasons with the Gunners after signing from Sheffield United in the summer of 2021.

However, things turned sour for the Englishman last season as Mikel Arteta decided to sign David Raya from Brentford with the Spanish stopper quickly taking the No 1 spot.

Ramsdale was relegated to the bench and used only in domestic cup competitions and the Brentford matches for which Raya was ineligible.

And the 26-year-old, who was still selected for Gareth Southgate's squad for Euro 2024, doesn't plan on going through another campaign like that again. 

‘No footballer wants to not play,' he told talkSPORT. 'I’ve had a tough year personally not playing and I never want to do that again.  

‘It was tough, it was tough. But I have my release now, I’m now here, I’ve got the greatest honour, the greatest badge on my chest, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I play a minute or no minutes, it will be the pinnacle for me, the best day ever.

‘For the time being I’m probably one of the happiest 26, 27 men in England and hopefully we can make not just us but however many millions at home the happiest as well.’

Ramsdale, who has been linked with a move to Newcastle, is expected to continue in a bench role as the Three Lions bid to end their wait for a major trophy in Germany with Jordan Pickford the recognised No 1.

‘I think Jordan has had the shirt and we’ve all been trying desperately hard for the past five years to get it off him and he’s done incredibly well,’ Ramsdale continued.

‘And if he gets the nod then I hope he does incredibly well again because if he wins the tournament for me and I don’t play a minute, it’ll be the happiest day of my life.

‘But what I would say is that squad numbers don’t always mean everything – we’re all fighting for the same goal, we’re all desperate to play. But then we also realise that it’s going to be a 26-man effort, 27 when you add Tom [Heaton] into it.

‘But when you come to the national team, when you find your role, when you know your role, which Gareth is very good at speaking to you about, your mentality changes, I would do absolutely anything if he said I was No 3, No 4, No 1, I would do anything for the team, I’d be on the training pitch for four hours if I could.

‘Competition is what we need, we don’t want 11 players who are going to pick itself, we want to give headaches to the staff, we can’t just rely on 11 players for seven games if you want to win the tournament.’