"He and the boss had been talking about me" - Arsenal star says Bukayo Saka convinced him to join the club and not Mikel Arteta

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has revealed that he was convinced by Bukayo Saka to join the Gunners last summer. The England international joined the Gunners from Sheffield United for an initial fee of £24 million last summer.

He revealed that instead of manager Mikel Arteta or president Edu, it was Arsenal winger Saka who convinced him to join the north London side.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, when asked about what Arteta said to him, Ramsdale said:

“It wasn’t him, to be honest – it was Bukayo! I heard rumours that Arsenal were interested in me when I was at the camp before the Euros, and Bukayo had mentioned that he and the boss had been talking about me. As the transfer window gathered pace, I went back to Sheffield United and there were bids getting rejected."

He added:

"When one was accepted, I finally spoke to the manager and he told me, “We don’t see anyone as No.1 or No.2.” He told me that it might take a year to win the main shirt. The manager’s great – you can speak to him about anything.”

The English goalkeeper has been brilliant for Arsenal this season. He joined after the Gunners lost their first three games on the trot in the Premier League. Since then, he has kept 12 clean sheets in 24 league matches.

He is currently nursing a hamstring injury that kept him out of their 1-0 win over Aston Villa on 19 March. He also withdrew from the England squad for the recent friendlies.

Arteta will hope to have his No. 1 shot-stopper back ahead of their clash against Crystal Palace on Monday, 4 April.

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Arsenal's resurgence based on a solid defense this season

The Gunners have been known to have a leaky defense in the last few seasons. They had just eight clean sheets in the Premier League in the 2018-19 season. They then finished with 10 and 12 clean sheets in the next two seasons, respectively. Notably, they finished eighth in the last two seasons.

However, they already have 13 clean sheets this season with 10 games yet to be played before the end of the season. The trio of Ramsdale, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes have been brilliant for the Gunners this season.

Arteta will hope they can continue the good work as they look to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2017. They currently sit fourth in the league table with a game in hand and a three-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.