Arsenal fans will hardly recognise the Aaron Ramsdale they’re seeing now

Just over three years ago, Aaron Ramsdale was Arsenal's number one, tipped to be England's next goalkeeper and one of the best in the Premier League, but now he finds himself as fourth-choice at Championship club Southampton.

The former Gunners shotstopper has suffered a huge fall from grace since losing his spot between the sticks to David Raya and is now a shadow of his former self. As the January transfer window edges closer, he is finding himself to be the subject of interest from a number of clubs.

Ramsdale's situation is a tricky and pretty sad one considering the highs he found himself at just a few years ago, and Arsenal supporters will hardly recognise the version of him they're seeing now compared to the one who was once a firm favourite among the fanbase.

When Arsenal signed Ramsdale from Sheffield United in August 2021, many eyebrows were raised. Splashing £24million on a goalkeeper who was expected to be a back-up after suffering consecutive relegations from the Premier League was deemed as a strange option by most.

However, after making his debut in a 6-0 win away to West Brom in the Carabao Cup, he found himself in contention for the first-choice spot. Bernd Leno had let in nine goals in his side's first three games as they found themselves bottom of the table, and Mikel Arteta had clearly seen enough.

Ramsdale played his first Premier League game for the North Londoners in a 1-0 win over Norwich City on 11 September and usurped his German counterpart to be the primary option between the sticks, appearing in all but one of his side's remaining league games.

He ended his first season in the English capital with 14 clean sheets in 37 appearances across all competitions and was handed the number one shirt ahead of the 2022/23 campaign following Leno's departure to Fulham.

The goalkeeper was key to Arsenal's success throughout the season, keeping 14 clean sheets in 38 league matches as they finished runners-up to Manchester City. Despite making a number of crucial saves, he did also make some mistakes, which were deemed huge factors in the Gunners letting their strong lead slip to the eventual champions.

Nevertheless, he remained his side's number one heading into the 2023/24 season, and started their first five matches as he saved a penalty to defeat City in a shootout to win the Community Shield and appeared between the sticks against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Manchester United.

Despite that, the loan signing of David Raya from Brentford in the summer prompted questions about Ramsdale's place and they were eventually answered when the Spaniard started in a 1-0 victory over Everton, demoting the Englishman to the bench.

Raya was guilty of making a number of errors in his first few months and that created even more discourse in the Arsenal fanbase as they cried out for their fan favourite to be restored between the sticks. However, those calls weren't answered as he kept hold of the spot to win the Premier League Golden Glove as his side finished two points off City to miss out on the title again.

On the other hand, Ramsdale made only two more league appearances, both coming against Raya's parent club Brentford. His final game for the Gunners was in the 2-1 home victory over the Bees and the Englishman was guilty of another big mistake as he played the ball against Yoane Wissa for the DR Congo international to equalise.

Arteta's decision to drop Ramsdale for Raya has been very much justified as the Spaniard has won a further two Golden Gloves, won the Premier League title and broke records in both the English top flight and the Champions League. His English counterpart's career has been very different.

Ramsdale left Arsenal for Southampton shortly after the start of the 2024/25 season and departed as a firm fan favourite, with many thanking him for his contributions during his time at the club.

He made 30 league appearances for the Saints, conceding 66 goals and keeping just three clean sheets as the Hampshire-based side finished rock bottom of the league to be relegated straight back down to the Championship.

Deemed too good of a goalkeeper to play in the second division, Ramsdale secured a loan move to Newcastle United, who were preparing for a season back in the Champions League, as well as aiming for another good campaign in the Prem.

However, he couldn't knuckle down a spot as the Magpies' first-choice, playing just 23 times and managing only two shutouts as they finished 12th in the league and failed to make a difference in the cup competitions, with their best performance coming in the Carabao Cup, which they exited in the semi-finals. One of his matches saw him concede seven to Barcelona to crash out of the Champions League.

Newcastle opted against triggering their buy option for Ramsdale and he returned to Southampton, but was expected to leave St Mary's once again due to changes in the pecking order. Daniel Peretz was signed permanently following a successful loan spell while George Long and Jamie Jones were Tonda Eckert's back-up options.

The goalkeeper did not depart the Saints though and remains at the club as their fourth-choice between the sticks. He has not made a competitive appearance for the side since a 2-1 final day defeat to ex-employers Arsenal in May 2025.

Going back three years, Ramsdale was on top of the world as far as Arsenal fans are concerned. He had just helped them finish in the Premier League and return to the Champions League, as well as being named in the 2022/23 PFA Team of the Year, only to find himself lose his place in just a matter of months.

Despite Arteta's bold decision to replace him ultimately being vindicated, and very much so too, it is still sad to see how the goalkeeper's career has panned out since bidding farewell to the Emirates Stadium.

To go from being one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers and England's potential future number one to a fourth-choice at a Championship side is a dramatic fall from grace that no player would wish on their worst rival, but at 28-years-old, Ramsdale still has a chance to rescue his career.

Football League World have tipped Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers to offer the shotstopper a chance to escape St Mary's while West Ham could be tempted to make a move following the poor start Mads Hermansen has had to the season.

Regardless of how it pans out for Ramsdale, there's no denying that Arsenal fans will hardly recognise the goalkeeper who was once one of their favourite players.