AARON RAMSDALE reckons his dad had a few beers before having a go at Jamie Carragher on social media.
And the Arsenal goalkeeper can smile about that.
But Ramsdale is deadly serious about how he is “hurting and suffering” after being dropped to the Gunners’ bench – and worried his Euro 2024 dreams will “fall by the wayside”.
Nick Ramsdale called Sky Sports pundit Carragher “a disgrace” for accusing his son of playing up to the cameras when he applauded rival David Raya’s wondersave in the North London Derby.
Ramsdale junior said with a grin: “It doesn’t help that my dad does it.
“But it was on a golf trip in Spain with 19 other lads from the local pub.
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“To be honest, I wasn’t too mad at him, he didn’t say anything out of turn. It just wasn’t helpful for the situation, he knew that.
“He obviously just had a few too many on the golf course!”
Ramsdale has found it tough being replaced as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper by Raya – although boss Mikel Arteta claims he doesn’t have a No 1.
The former Sheffield United goalkeeper said: “Because it’s one of the first times it’s happened with the situation, it has been difficult.
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“Whether it is me or David who plays we need to be able to just focus and play but at the same time, it’s a strange, big headline and it’s one that we’re working through as a club.
“And it’s one that the manager puts in front of us and we have to deal with it and that is what we are doing.”
Raya has said publicly that he and Ramsdale get on well, despite their rivalry.
Ramsdale said: “We are with each other for three or four hours a day – there are four or five of us in that group so if we don’t get on it wouldn’t work.
“We work professionally really well together. We push each other in training and there’s days where I come in and I’m down because of the situation and he picks me up.
“And if for whatever reason there might be a day where he’s down, and even though I’m suffering and hurting for not playing, I have to stand up and be able to push him and make sure he’s ready for the weekend if he’s picked to play.”
Ramsdale knows not being picked for Arsenal could hurt his chances of going to the Euros in Germany next summer, let alone his ability to challenge Jordan Pickford for his starting spot.
England boss Gareth Southgate has kept faith with players like Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips despite their lack of game time for their clubs.
But Ramsdale, who was on the bench alongside Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone for the Three Lions’ win over Italy, admits he is worried.
Ramsdale said: “Of course, it is the first time I have found myself in this situation.
“The manager here is brilliant, he trusts the players he’s worked with before as we’ve seen in different types of ways.
“You’ll see Kalvin and Harry haven’t played the most amount of minutes but when they step up for England and are given the opportunity, they perform.
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“So if that’s the case for myself and I do get shown that trust to play another game if I haven’t played for my club, then I will have to repay him.
“But of course I want to get into my club team and be able to give the manager a headache rather than just have Jordan as the No 1 and me fall by the wayside.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
