Aaron Ramsdale shows Arsenal true colours with heartfelt Declan Rice message

Aaron Ramsdale has told Declan Rice he is proud of the Arsenal midfielder for receiving a Ballon d'Or nomination this year.

Rice came 26th last year, receiving five points thanks to a sixth-place vote from Juha Kanerva, the journalist representing Finland. However, his ballot was one of three that did not include the presumptive winner, Vinicius Jr, in the top ten.

After being singled out for that omission, Kanerva clarified it was a "technical error" and claimed he would step down from the position. He also had William Saliba at eight, but neither Bukayo Saka nor Martin Odegaard made it.

This year, Rice is the only Arsenal player shortlisted for their performances in red last season. Viktor Gyokeres is also a nominee for his performances at Sporting CP before moving to north London this summer.

Ramsdale has since responded to his former teammate's nomination. "That's it right there (red heart emoji) proud of you bro," the caption on his Instagram story post reads.

The goalkeeper has previously talked up Rice after his two free-kick goals against Real Madrid. "I've seen him hit the second one before, but I've never seen him hit the first one,' Ramsdale said.

"I would be a little bit critical of the wall, but he's still bent it around a yard outside the post, and it's come back in. The second one I've seen him do, I know he's got that in him, but do it after the first one, on that stage, it was a special night and I spoke to him after.'

Rice spoke highly of his former Arsenal teammate earlier this year when asked to pick a dream five-a-side team from the current England squad. "I'm going Rambo [Ramsdale] in goal," he replied.

"He's my boy, and he loves playing, like constantly; when he was at Arsenal, he just used to come for five-a-side all the time."

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