Aaron Ramsdale Arsenal exit latest: Asking price 'confirmed', Nottingham Forest 'interest', Mikel Arteta's stance

Arsenal are expected to offload a number of players this summer as they bid to fund their summer transfers, and one of those players is Aaron Ramsdale. The England goalkeeper was replaced by David Raya last season, and with the Spaniard having signed permanently, there is no sign of Ramsdale reclaiming his spot.

With that in mind, and with Arsenal looking to balance the books while continuing their spending, Ramsdale is an asset the Gunners can offload to bring in a sizable chunk of cash. Interest has already been generated, and here we round up the latest on the situation.

Asking price and latest reports

Arsenal will reportedly ask for £30million to sell Ramsdale this summer amid interest from Nottingham Forest, Southampton and others. According to CaughtOffside, the Gunners will only consider offers worth £30million as they look to cash in on their England number two.

Ramsdale is still only 26 years of age, and he is already en experienced Premier League goalkeeper, with 78 Arsenal league appearances to his name. Forest and Southampton are reportedly the two teams with the most serious interest, but it remains to be seen whether they can and will meet the asking price.

Ramsdale replacement

Arsenal have reportedly decided that Wolves keeper Daniel Bentley will be their number two should Ramsdale leave as expected. The Gunners have already seen two bids for the 31-year-old rejected, according to reports, and they may well wait until Ramsdale is sold to press ahead with a fresh approach.

Bentley has made just five league appearances for Wolves since joining from Bristol City last year, and it’s clear he is not at the standard of Ramsdale. But with David Raya as number one, Arsenal clearly feel as though they don’t need a back-up keeper who can challenge for the number one spot.

What has been said

Speaking late last season, Arteta said of Ramsdale’s situation: "We just want the best for our players and we try to do that, and we know the influence that we can have - sometimes positively, sometimes not so positively, towards them. This is a team sport that needs 24 players that have to fulfil a role. And the role that you have in August, it might be very different to the one you have in March.

"So making early decisions, in my experience, is not something good at all and as well because the team has certain needs that has to be accomplished. You need everyone and Aaron has a really important role in the team."

Ramsdale said last season after losing the number one spot: “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. 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 deal with it. That is what we are doing.

“We are with each other for three or four hours a day – there are four or five of us in that [goalkeeper] group so if we don’t get on it wouldn’t work. 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. 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.”

He added: “Because it’s one of the first times it’s happened with the situation, it has been difficult. 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. There’s a lot … a lot of attention. It’s a position where it’s famously said if you’re not spoken about, it means you’ve done a good job. There’s a lot of talk at the minute.”