Ramsdale left sweating over Arsenal future with Arteta set to turn to Raya
Mikel Arteta is planning to give David Raya a chance to stake his claim to be Arsenal’s No1.
Gunners boss Arteta pulled off a major surprise in the summer by signing Raya despite already having England international Aaron Ramsdale. Ramsdale is hugely popular among Arsenal fans and was even named in the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League team of the year, an accolade voted for by all his fellow pros.
But there is a feeling that it is only a matter of time before Arteta gives Raya a chance this season. Arsenal signed Raya from Brentford on a season-long loan with the potential for a permanent deal at the end for the Spain international.
Arteta is a huge fan of Raya for his ability as a keeper and also playing out from the back. There is now a clear chance for Raya to get his chance to play in the Carabao Cup on September 27 ironically against his parent club.
Premier League rules mean Raya could not play against Brentford but that is not the case in the Carabao Cup and loan players can play against their parent club as long as they get permission.
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Brentford are likely to grant that permission and that could be the first opening for Raya to stake his claim for the longer term. But there is a growing belief that Arteta does see Raya as his long term keeper which clearly is a huge worry for Ramsdale and his future at the club.
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David Raya is set to be given a chance to take Aaron Ramsdale's place (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)Ramsdale signed a new contract in May but is clearly very aware of the threat of Raya and also Arteta’s ruthless streak as the Arsenal manager analyses every performance and mistake. Arteta also has made bold decisions in the past - using William Saliba at centre half last season for example - to make what he sees as marginal but significant gains.
That has left Ramsdale feeling the heat and Raya’s presence will only increase the competition in the Arsenal keeper department. Arteta has faced criticism over adding the competition, but defended bringing in Raya insisting there is "nothing wrong" with the move.
“To have two excellent goalkeepers is great - there's nothing wrong with it. We want to be better every single day and to be better the environment has to change and be better," he said last month.
"We tend to always be at a certain level because it's in our nature - when you change the environment and the environment is to be 100 per cent every day, believe me, the level is going to increase.
“I've seen that close up with my own eyes with the players that we have now, compared to the players we had two years ago. If we want to be better, we have to create that environment. [He brings] better qualities for our game model, it’s very simple.
“We want two players per position that can do that. You need to be prepared because the question will be ‘what is it, two goalkeepers of this size?’ And if Aaron was to sustain a cruciate injury, then what do you say? So, we have to be prepared, we have to be proactive.”
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