Arsenal legend David Seaman has hailed Aaron Ramsdale for proving the supporters wrong after an impressive start to his career with the club.
The 24-year-old arrived at the Emirates Stadium in a deal that could rise to £30million from Sheffield United this summer, making him the club’s most expensive goalkeeper in their history by some margin.
There were fears from the supporters that signing Ramsdale could be a bad omen, given that the Englishman had been part of two consecutive relegations with the Bournemouth in 2019-20 and the Blades in 2020-21.
But the England international has swiftly silenced his doubters, keeping four clean sheets in his first six appearances for the club.
He has earned the number one spot in front of German stopper Bernd Leno and Seaman was keen to point out how quickly he has developed with Arsenal.
“I have seen him in training and in games as well, and I’m really impressed. He’s improved a lot,” Seaman told Mirror Football , speaking as part of LloydsPharmacy's 'Give Flu The Boot' initiative.
“He’s got a great character and looks to be settling well.
"A lot of Arsenal fans weren’t too sure about him signing but he’s proved them wrong so far.”
Seaman’s place in Arsenal folklore was secured in the peak years of Arsene Wenger’s reign, having played a key role in their Premier League and FA Cup double-winning season in 1997-98.
The former England international went on to make 564 appearances for the Gunners, lifting the Premier League twice, FA Cup four times and EFL Cup in 1992-93.
But it was not always plain sailing for Seaman, having signed while John Lukic was a fans’ favourite in 1990 from Queens Park Rangers, forcing him to win over their approval.
And the 58-year-old has drawn parallels to his situation to when Ramsdale arrived in north London.
“It reminds me lot of what I was used to when I joined Arsenal,” headed.
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“The fans all used to sing that ‘John Lukic is better than David Seaman’. I remember them saying “you’d never play for Arsenal” and I proved them wrong!
“Ramsdale has already shown how good he can be and now he’s the number one.”
Ramsdale was one of six new arrivals at the Emirates Stadium this summer as Mikel Arteta made clear his intention to revamp the squad, following back-to-back eighth-placed finishes in the Premier League.
The Spaniard spent the most of any manager in the division, splashing out around £150m on new arrivals, with Ramsdale joining Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Nuno Tavares.
Arsenal have gone five games unbeaten since losing their first three matches of the Premier League season and Seaman has called for patience as the new signings continue to gel together.
“It’s not like he’s gone and brought in one or two players,” he said.
“These are six players who were only going to get better and that will take time.
“What I like is that the board have backed him, and I hope that continues.
“From what I have seen on the training ground, Mikel is really impressive in the way he organises training and works with the squad."
Arsenal face Aston Villa in their second home fixture in the space of five days on Friday evening, having snatched a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on Monday.
Ex-England football legend, David Seaman joined forces with LloydsPharmacy and local Rotherham football club, Swallownest FC, to raise awareness of the importance of getting your flu vaccination this winter. For more information, visit: www. lloydspharmacy.com
