Ramsdale says he fears for place in England squad after losing No 1 spot at club

Aaron Ramsdale admits he fears for his place in the England squad after breaking his silence on the ‘suffering’ he has endured since losing his position as Arsenal No 1.

The goalkeeper has been a fixture in the Gunners starting XI for two seasons but has now lost his place in Mikel Arteta’s team to David Raya, who arrived from Brentford in the summer.

Mail Sport revealed on September 5 that Arteta was plotting a change in goalkeeper - with the Gunners boss selecting Raya ahead of Ramsdale in his team’s next game against Everton.

Asked about whether he's concerned about losing his place in the England squad ahead of next summer’s European Championship due to a lack of action at Arsenal, Ramsdale responded: ‘Yes, of course, it is the first time I have found myself in this situation.

'The manager here [Gareth Southgate] is brilliant, he trusts the players he's worked with before as we've seen in different types of ways - you'll see Kalvin [Phillips] and Harry [Maguire] haven’t played the most amount of minutes but when they step up for England and are given the opportunity, they perform.

‘So if if that's the case for myself and I do get shown that trust to play another game if I haven't played for my club then I will have to repay him.

‘But of course, I want to get back into my club team. I want to get into my club team and be able to give the manager a headache rather than just have Jordan [Pickford] as the England number one and me fall by the wayside.’

On his relationship with Raya, the former Bournemouth keeper continued: ‘We work professionally really well together. We push each other in training and there's days where I come in and I'm down because of the situation and he picks me up.

‘And for whatever reason there might be a day where he's down and even though I'm suffering and hurting for not playing I have to stand up and be able to push him and make sure he's ready for the weekend if he’s picked to play.’

Ramsdale’s body language on Arsenal’s bench has been under the microscope in recent weeks, with a particular focus on one instance when the England shot-stopper applauded Raya for a save he made in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham on September 24.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said: ‘I thought it was like the Oscars, you know when someone loses the Oscar and they start clapping and smiling for the other person.

‘I was laughing when I saw that. He's absolutely devastated with that really!’

Ramsdale’s father Nick responded to Carragher on social media by posting: ‘You are a Disgrace!! Show some class!! My lad has.’

And the keeper revealed: ‘It doesn't help that my dad does it - but it was on a golf trip in Spain with 19 other lads from the local pub!

‘I wasn't too mad at him, he didn't say anything out of turn, it just wasn't helpful for the situation, he knew that. He obviously just had a few too many on the golf course!

‘I know there's a lot of noise but it doesn't affect me. There are times where you're doing the right thing, but it's the wrong thing and if you don't do it, it's the wrong thing. So it's a double-edged sword.

‘Whether it is me or David who plays we need to be able to just focus and play but at the same time, it's a strange, big headline and it's one that we're working through as a club and it's one that the manager puts in front of us and we have to we have to deal with it and that is what we are doing.’