David James thinks that Aaron Rasmdale’s focus is already on his part in the England team rather than his club, despite his upcoming appearance.
Ramsdale has been firmly relegated to the position of reserve goalkeeper at Arsenal following the arrival of David Raya from Brentford, initially on a loan deal.
However, Arsenal’s upcoming match is against the Spaniard’s parent club, so Ramsdale is in line to make an appearance.
Speaking to Lord Ping, former Liverpool goalkeeper James believes Ramsdale will be aware that this single appearance will do little to affect his place under Mikel Arteta, and so he will simply be hoping to keep up his form to ensure he goes to the Euros this summer.
He explained: “I think Aaron Ramsdale will be thinking about the European Championships, and it would be fair to say that with regards to England goalkeepers, Gareth Southgate has got a tricky situation on his hands because he only has Jordan Pickford from his group of three that is playing week-in, week-out. I know the Euros are a few months away, but at the moment we’re looking at one match-ready goalkeeper of the established trio. Aaron Ramsdale is firmly part of Gareth Southgate’s squad.
“In this game, he will be looking to play well and help Arsenal get the three points, but he’ll also know that it doesn’t matter how well he plays, it will still be a one-off with Raya coming back in for the next one.
“As a professional, he will want to have a good game. I think he will worry about his future in the summer – he shouldn’t be thinking about that now. In this match he needs to demonstrate to Gareth Southgate that he is ready if required for the European Championships having not been involved with the Arsenal first team for a couple of months.
"I think it’s important for Ramsdale to demonstrate that he can play and can play well after a spell on the sidelines. He needs to show Gareth that he isn’t rusty. I don’t think there will be an issue with Ramsdale’s performance when he plays against Brentford.”
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