Speaking in the latest copy of FourFourTwo magazine (May 2022 edition, page 34), Aaron Ramsdale has been chatting about his move to Arsenal and Bukayo Saka’s influence on the transfer.
Ramsdale joined the Gunners in the summer in a big-money move, and while you may expect it to be Edu or Mikel Arteta who convinced the goalkeeper to join the club, Saka actually played a key part.
Indeed, according to Ramsdale, Saka spoke to him before the Euros about potentially coming to Arsenal, and the goalkeeper says that he didn’t actually speak to Arteta about a move until a bid was accepted.
What’s been said?
Ramsdale was asked about how Arteta sold the club to him.
“It wasn’t him, to be honest – it was Bukayo! I heard rumours that Arsenal were interested in me when I was at the camp before the Euros, and Bukayo had mentioned that he and the boss had been talking about me. As the transfer window gathered pace, I went back to Sheffield United and there were bids getting rejected. When one was accepted, I finally spoke to the manager and he told me, “We don’t see anyone as No.1 or No.2.” He told me that it might take a year to win the main shirt. The manager’s great – you can speak to him about anything.”
Agent Saka
Bukayo Saka isn’t just one of Arsenal’s best players, it seems as though he’s doubling up as a transfer intermediary too.
We don’t know what Saka told Ramsdale about Arsenal, but it was seemingly enough to convince him that it was the right move for him.
Of course, the England goalkeeper probably didn’t need much convincing to swap the Championship for the Emirates, but it sounds as though Saka still played his part brilliantly.
We have to wonder whether or not Saka will be having a word in Tammy Abraham or Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s ear at the next England camp.
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