When Aaron Ramsdale sat down for his “interview” with The Players’ Tribune in April, he had one intention: to tell his story as honestly as possible. That was as far as his thought process went, until he started talking.
And then it all came out.
The England goalkeeper spoke about the backlash when news broke that he was joining Arsenal in August 2021 and “the entire world” told him he would fail, and the series of knockbacks that spurred him on to earn three caps for his country (“maybe that’s something to keep in mind for all the kids out there who are constantly told that anything less than perfection is the end of their dream”).
The 25-year-old also spoke about his family.
About the miscarriage he and his wife suffered early last year and playing through the pain in the north London derby three days later.
Georgina Irwin (centre), Aaron Ramsdale’s wife (Photo: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
About the pride and admiration he has for his brother Oliver, a performer in London’s West End, who is gay. And about the moments he’s bitten his tongue in dressing rooms and on social media over the years when hearing “homophobic comments”.
It was around this point during the interview that Ramsdale paused and glanced over to the side of the…
