Arsenal 'won't sanction' Aaron Ramsdale exit in January

GiveMeSport

·13 December 2023

Arsenal 'won't sanction' Aaron Ramsdale exit in January

Arsenal are not keen to let goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale leave due to his value on and off the field, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
That said, Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich have all shown an interest in the out-of-favour 25-year-old, who is keen to secure a spot at Euro 2024 with England.
Arsenal are targeting a new striker to pair up with Gabriel Jesus in the transfer window, with Liga Portugal ace, who is on red-hot form, among the options.

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has seen his game time reduced in north London following the arrival of David Raya, though journalist Ben Jacobs, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT, has revealed why the Gunners are not keen to sanction his departure.

Upon his £30m arrival from Sheffield United in 2021, the Englishman has been a key part of Arsenal’s success. An underrated aspect of their title challenge in 2022/23, he has now been reduced to a bit-part role with David Raya through the door.

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An odd decision from Mikel Arteta and his entourage considering how influential Ramsdale had been in the goal frame. As such, confusion arose among the Emirates Stadium faithful as to who was going to don the number one shirt heading into such an important campaign.

Champions League duo eye move for Ramsdale

Since Raya made the cross-London switch on loan for an initial fee of £3 million, he has tended to be the preferred option, having featured in 16 games across all competitions thus far in 2023/24. Despite Raya's move initially being on a temporary basis, the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Gunners have decided to trigger the Spaniard’s £27 million release clause and, as a result, he will most likely become the club’s long-term choice between the posts - but where does that leave Ramsdale?

At the back end of November, journalist Paul Brown told GIVEMESPORT that neither Ramsdale nor Raya are ‘responding well’ to the competition. As such, the former's future is heavily in the balance, with TEAMtalk reporting that the Chesterton-born shot-stopper could ask to leave upon the January transfer window opening for business as worries continue to grow that he could miss out on a Euro 2024 spot with England.

In mid-September, MailOnline reported that both Chelsea and Bayern Munich were keeping tabs on his situation after he was dropped for Arsenal's 1-0 triumph over Everton. And seeing as Ramsdale's fate is yet to change at his current employers, the two could well re-invest their time and energy in January.

Hot on Arsenal's heels at the moment for Ramsdale's services are Newcastle United, who are - at the moment - having to fare without first choice Nick Pope. According to talkSPORT, St James' Park another 'potential escape route' and the out-of-favour stopper could be enticed by the reunion with former Bournemouth chief Eddie Howe.

Ben Jacobs on Aaron Ramsdale

Jacobs suggested that, despite Ramsdale being heavily out of favour in north London, Arsenal are reluctant to let him go as they value the £120,000-per-week earner, both on and off the field.

He claimed that Ramsdale is in a similar situation to Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu, two stars who are also finding minutes hard to come by. Referencing the interest from Newcastle, the respected journalist believes that the Magpies will have a tough time snaring the signature of the four-cap England international. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:

“I also don't think Arsenal will sanction it. I've said many times that, from Arsenal's perspective, and you always have to factor in the player as well but from Arsenal's perspective, they just don't want Ramsdale to go. “They value him on and off the field, and they don't want to lose that depth in the same way they don't want to lose [Jakub] Kiwior’s depth in the same way they want [Takehiro] Tomiyasu to renew. So, it's going to be difficult for Newcastle even if they did have an interest.”

Arsenal keen to snare striker in January

Arteta's side came ever so close to the promised land but eventually finished five points behind perennial champions Manchester City, despite leading for a record-setting period of 248 days - the longest a team have spent atop of the standings without winning.

What was missing? A goal-gobbling striker. As a result, the north Londoners are eyeing up moves for a striker in the impending transfer window, with CaughtOffside reporting that Viktor Gyokeres, 25, is among their extensive list of options. The Swedish talisman joined Sporting CP for a mere fee of €24 (£20.4m), according to the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, and has been in red-hot form since.

Totting up 15 goals and a further seven assists in his inaugural 18 outings for the Portuguese powerhouse, there's no surprise the Gunners are eyeing up someone of his goalscoring pedigree. Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is aware of the ever-growing interest in his striker's services, however, and has admitted that Arsenal - or any other would-be buyer - will need to table a bid worth £87 million in order to be successful in their pursual.