Aaron Ramsdale has revealed that he held the ashes of his granddad close as he became an Arsenal player.
The former Sheffield United goalkeeper was Martin Odegaard having also been announced earlier in the day, and second addition on Friday alone with sealing his signature for a £25million fee.
It was certainly a special moment for the 23-year-old after a protracted transfer saga that had seen the Gunners pull out of talks before Arsenal.
The moment was made even more humbling surrounded by his family, as well as having the ashes of his grandfather, who shared not only a name but an ambition with the young England stopper.
Talking ahead of his potential Gunners debut against Chelsea’s official website, Ramsdale said: "The day my mum found out she was pregnant with me, was the day he died, and his name was Ron.
"He was from Bloxwich in Birmingham and they used to say 'oh, we’re going to go see our Ron' or 'our Barbara'. So I’m Aaron for 'our Ron'.
"So when they spread the ashes, my dad kept some of his ashes and he’s gone on a little tour of the 92 [football league grounds] basically and all the stadiums - my dad brings him to the games and stuff and we’ll have a picture at the stadium.
"I did say in the car this morning that he wasn’t coming out but it’s a nice touch. He would have been a footballer if his dad would have allowed him back in the day and he was a goalkeeper as well so there’s little connections between us both.
"That’s the story and my dad takes him everywhere and keeps him close to his heart so it’s alright."
Ramsdale will certainly hope the tradition can give him a bit more luck this weekend with the 23-year-old potentially being eligible for his Gunners debut against Chelsea.
His move must be ratified through the standard regulatory process first though.
