Aaron Ramsdale will return to Arsenal on Saturday in a completely different position from the one he had become accustomed to in north London.
Ramsdale is no longer competing for Premier League titles, instead featuring for a Southampton side whose sole aim this season is to avoid relegation.
Arsenal are in third place, one point behind league leaders Liverpool, but Southampton have not won any of their opening six top-flight games, losing five times and drawing against Ipswich Town, leaving them in the relegation zone.
But at least Ramsdale is playing regularly at Southampton. His last game for Mikel Arteta’s side was a 2-1 win over Brentford on March 9, filling in for David Raya, who, as a loanee, was ineligible to play against his parent club.
That was Ramsdale’s final appearance for Arsenal. He had lost his place in the starting XI to Raya in the autumn of 2023 and entered the summer transfer window unsure of his future.
He has spoken this week about the challenge of being replaced and the pressure it put on him. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “It used to do my head in coming off the pitch and then my wife would say, ‘Oh, you were on the TV five times again today’. Why someone would then pan to me after someone makes a save, or a goal goes in and it pans to me on…
