Aaron Ramsdale admits he ‘needs to be careful how many teams he p***es off’

The Arsenal shot-stopper has admitted that his aspirations for an England call-up might mean he needs to tone down his on-pitch antics after he celebrated in the face of a Manchester United star

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After a season full of on-pitch jests aimed at opposition fans, Aaron Ramsdale has vowed to stop winding up teams in order to boost his chances of an England call-up.

Ramsdale has cemented his position in the Arsenal line-up after a string of spectacular saves and solid performances, and has even attracted speculation that he might replace Jordan Pickford between the sticks for the national side.

As well as his shot-stopping, the keeper has been praised as a “top-tier rattler” for winding up opposing supporters, for instance by waving at Chelsea fans or admitting that he enjoys being labelled a “s*** Jordan Pickford”.

But now, Ramsdale has suggested that his antics might be coming to an end.

In a recent appearance on the Peter Crouch podcast, Crouchy praised the goalkeeper, suggesting: “I feel like you’ve got the mentality to play at a World Cup, that scrutiny [when you’re] playing for England is a different level.”

Ramsdale went on to describe how he would react should he ever receive his dream England call-up.

“Of course I’m nervous before the game, I got out for the warm up and I’m absolutely fine because then it just goes into autopilot of what I’ve been doing since I was six years old…Big pressure I would thrive off.

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“I think my main sort of aim at the moment, I need to be careful of how many teams I p*** off, and I’m being genuinely serious. At one point, I hope to be an England goalie, so I want their support.”

The Arsenal shot stopper also addressed the topic of “s***housery” on the podcast, and was praised by Chris Stark for being “one of England’s greatest” at winding up opposition fans with his on-field antics.

The trio discussed one example, where the keeper could be seen to run and celebrate in front of the face of Bruno Fernandes who missed a penalty for Manchester United in their defeat to the Gunners.

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“It was good housery,” Ramsdale admitted, before suggesting the incident had been “blown a bit out of proportion” and insisting that he had been celebrating with his teammates rather than mocking the Portuguese midfielder.

“I find it quite funny how other players or other fans can do what they want to goalies who stand their on their own for 90 minutes and get abused.

“I waved at a Chelsea fan the other week who was giving me all sorts all second half. Then we scored the penalty and I waved at him, and the security guard said, ‘why did you do that? It wasn’t necessary’. I said, ‘you’ve listened to every word he’s said, [calling me] every name under the sun, and I can’t simply wave?’”

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