Aaron Ramsdale forced Arsenal transfer by going on strike at Sheffield United

Aaron Ramsdale has admitted that he refused to play for Sheffield United in a bid to force through a move to Arsenal back in August after the club 'went back' on a promise.

The England international has been included in the signing of the season conversation following his move to the Emirates, having displaced Bernd Leno as Mikel Arteta's first choice.

The 23-year-old has also been backed to replace Jordan Pickford as Three Lions stopper thanks to his impressive Premier League displays that have included nine clean sheets from 16 appearances.

While the former Bournemouth man has been delighted with life at Arsenal so far, he has admitted that the way in which he left the Blades was far from seamless.

Speaking to Ben Foster on The Cycling GK YouTube channel, Ramsdale spoke about initial bids from Arsenal that were rejected, and how he was given assurances he would be able to leave.

He said: "The numbers which were getting thrown out, there were a couple of times where I lost my head.

"It was just like, 'How can someone be saying £40million for me?'

"I was doing the fan thing: relegated, £40m, it doesn't make sense."

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He added when asked for his thoughts when the move was being blocked: "It got to the point of me saying, 'I understand where you're coming from but this is what I want to do'.

"They said they wouldn't stand in my way if a bid comes in or whatever.

"And there were bids coming in and they were turning them down, and I said, 'Look, you just said…'

With Ramsdale getting more desperate to secure a move back to the Premier League, he has admitted that he refused to play in a Championship fixture to force the situation.

Concluding: "And then I didn't train for the first two days, and the manager was like, 'He'll be alright, he'll play', and Tuesday came and I said, 'I'm not playing'.

"Wednesday the team news comes out that I'm not in the squad and then within 45 minutes, about 10 minutes before kick-off – I was on my way down [to sign]."

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