Aaron Ramsdale 'should be left alone' to sort out his problems at Arsenal by himself after his dad criticised Mikel Arteta, claims Ian Ladyman on Mail Sport's It's All Kicking Off

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale should be left to handle his current issues at the club by himself, according to Mail Sport's Ian Ladyman.

Ramsdale has lost his place in Mikel Arteta's starting line-up this season after being dropped for David Raya, and his father, Nick, spoke out earlier this week criticising the way the situation had been handled by the Arsenal boss.

Nick claimed Arteta had given no prior indication that he was planning to drop his son, and admitted Ramsdale had 'lost that smile' in recent weeks.

He also hit out at Jamie Carragher earlier in the campaign when the former Liverpool defender suggested Ramsdale was being disingenuous for giving exaggerated applause to Raya following a fine save in the north London derby.

Having spoken up again, Ladyman believes Nick is not doing his son any favours and should leave him to deal with his own problems in the future. 

'I think Aaron should be left alone to sort this problem out for himself,' Ladyman said on Mail Sport's It's All Kicking Off podcast.

'We all have a bit of sympathy for him. We don't really think he should have been dropped. We don't think the bloke who is replacing him is playing particularly well. However, he's not the first footballer to be left out of a football team.'

Ramsdale blamed his dad's outburst at Carragher on him having a few too many drinks on the golf course while on holiday.

Sutton believes the England shot-stopper dealt with that well, but admits his father isn't helping by voicing his opinion.

However, he has played down the significance of Nick's latest comments, insisting he is only trying to show support to his son. 

'His dad has come out sticking up for his son. I know with the last incident with his dad, the speaking out, Aaron Ramsdale actually handled that situation very well, didn't he?' Sutton said.

'He said his dad was away on a golfing trip. He would rather have him not sort of made any comment. And I don't know whether he feels the same way now, but I understand that from a parental point of view. 

'If he's asked a question about his son, he's just telling the truth. Why would Aaron Ramsdale have a smile on his face at this moment? 

'It isn't helpful. And I get your point. It brings the heat on the situation, doesn't it? But it's a dad who loves his son.

'Is it such a big deal? It's not such a big deal. You're making a big deal out of it. I don't know what Aaron Ramsdale's going to say about his dad this time round. But it's a father who's come out, he's told the truth. 

'I agree with what you're saying in terms of bringing the heat on Aaron Ramsdale and it being slightly unnecessary, but it happened and it's not such a big deal.'

Despite not playing a Premier League game since September, Ramsdale has still been named in England's latest squad.

He will hope to add to his tally of four international caps over the coming days when Gareth Southgate's men face Malta and North Macedonia as they look to wrap up top spot in their qualifying group to earn a spot in the pot of top seeds for Euro 2024.