Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has branded Diego Costa one of the best wind-up merchants he has ever come across.
The England international sat down with ESPN to film a video about some of football’s best known agents of chaos.
Ramsdale has proven an excellent signing for Arsenal since he arrived at the Emirates Stadium in a £30 million deal. He has also carved out a reputation for winding up the opposition.
So he is well placed to comment on some of the game’s most mischievous stars.
Ramsdale was asked to put players into a tier list, with the categories ranging from ‘Actually… he’s a good lad’ all the way up to ‘Master of the dark arts’.
Midway through, Ramsdale was presented with Wolves striker Costa.
The 34-year-old has been a brilliant striker throughout his career, although his best days are definitely far behind him now.
But he has also been known for being a player that really gets under people’s skin.
His aggression has seen him get into many a tussle over the years, and he definitely seems to enjoy winding up his opponents.
One example of this was earlier this season, when he offered Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson the ball to ‘waste more time’.
Ramsdale said of Costa: “I’ve got to play Wolves again. Yeah, I do. Wind-up merchant. He’s probably one of the best ones.”
Wolves face Arsenal on the final day of the season at Molineux.
Costa is currently out with a knee injury, but should be available to play in that game.