Maybe Aaron Ramsdale will stay at Arsenal after all

The departure of Aaron Ramsdale this summer was treated as a given by many.

Harshly usurped by David Raya as Arsenal's number one, Ramsdale played just twice in the Premier League after Raya made his first start for the club. Both outings came against Raya's parent club, Brentford.

The Englishman was forced to watch on and applaud as Arsenal's new arrival claimed Golden Glove honours following a sturdy debut campaign. While we regarded Ramsdale as perfect for Mikel Arteta once Bernd Leno was brushed aside, the Spaniard seemingly regards Raya as his ideal shot-stopper.

There's no sign of Ramsdale regaining his number-one status, and for the sake of his career, his exit away from north London was seemingly inevitable. However, his inclusion in Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad rendered an early summer transfer incredibly tough, but murmurs surrounding Ramsdale's supposed Arsenal exit have come few and far between since he returned from Germany

How are Arsenal going to sell Aaron Ramsdale this summer?

It's worth noting that while the sale of Ramsdale would fetch the club some extra cash, Arsenal themselves aren't pushing the goalkeeper out of the door. Arteta would be more than happy to have a goalkeeper of Ramsdale's quality operating in reserve. Alongside Manchester City's Stefan Ortega, Ramsdale would be the best back-up keeper in the Premier League.

But given the lack of minutes he'd enjoy next season and his ambition to serve as his country's primary shot-stopper, we assumed that Rambo would make a big push to depart this summer. Unless he believes he has a shot of playing the Uno reverse on Raya.

However, with the transfer deadline creeping up on us, it's now starting to seem as if the Englishman will remain on Arsenal's books for 2024/25. I mean, who's going to buy him? There were once links to the likes of Newcastle and Chelsea, but both clubs have already dipped their toes in the goalkeeper market this summer. Those moves are off the table.

There's Wolves, but Ramsdale would have to compete with the excellent Jose Sa for the number one berth. Perhaps Crystal Palace could make a move should Sam Johnstone depart as is now apparently suspected. The Eagles have Dean Henderson in reserve, though.

There's no obvious Premier League choice, and it just seems incredibly unlikely that any club from overseas would be willing to match the Gunners' valuation which surely has to come down from the £42m reported earlier in the window. A loan move abroad is feasible, but how much does that really benefit Arsenal? If they were to let Ramsdale go before the window slams shut, it'd have to be permanent.

But, as I've noted, perhaps everyone's okay with staying put. The cheeky and hardly bereft of self-confidence Ramsdale may well back himself to regain his number one status, Arsenal would boast an excellent reserve goalkeeper and wouldn't have to dedicate any time during the latter days of the window attempting to sign a replacement given their priorities in other positions.

Inertia.

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