Aaron Ramsdale has lifted the lid on a Premier League footballer's goldfish bowl lifestyle, insisting: “It's one of the best jobs in the world, but one of the worst at the same time.”
Arsenal fans who tune into the fly-on-the-wall All Or Nothing documentary will see the Gunners keeper baring his soul on the stress of every game being a must-win at a top club. The pressure extends to his parents, Nick and Caroline, who go through a gamut of emotions watching him every week.
Ramsdale's father frequently leaves the players' box at the Emirates to release the strain when games are on a knife-edge. He revealed: “Yeah - he hates it, he hates it. Especially now. He tells me week in, week out, to stop passing it into midfield because it gives him a heart attack.
“I think in previous years it was the other way round, and my mum was probably the one struggling, with losing and relegation and things. I think that affected her more than him – he knew the type of person I was, stronger than my mum thought. Now it's the other way, where I have a lot of responsibility on the ball and it gives him more of a heart attack than my mum.
“I believe he walks in and out of the box 24/7 throughout the game. It's just one of those things, it's definitely taxing on the families as well because my mood for the whole weekend will revolve around the game.”
Asked what kind of viewing experience Arsenal fans can expect from the series, Ramsdale said: “I just hope they (viewers) get to see that we are just human, and you get to see us enjoying ourselves but that, at times, we are suffering together.
“It's one of the best jobs in the world, but one of the worst at the same time. Don't get me wrong: This isn't me preaching like, "Oh, everyone should feel sorry for us'.
“But the time away from families, and kids, living out of a suitcase, travelling, the stress you put on yourself, the stress you have in terms of the fanbase... one weekend it's the best job in the world and you're living on cloud nine and winning games, and the next week you lose against a team you shouldn't lose to and it's doom and gloom.”
All or Nothing: Arsenal launches on Prime Video on Thursday 4 th August, with new episodes weekly
