Raya is clearly now Arsenal No. 1. Time for Ramsdale to go?

The key to whether goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was treated harshly by Arsenal lies not just in the decision to sign David Raya itself, but in the level of communication around it.

Sympathy runs high for Ramsdale, who by all accounts did little wrong in his first two years at the club before the Gunners decided to bring in Raya this summer on an initial loan from Brentford ahead of a £27m move. Sources have told ESPN that the structure of the deal was mainly due to accounting reasons on Arsenal’s side; Loaning Raya is not a sign of uncertainty about signing him permanently, but actually a postponement of a payment they expect to make.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

The problem for Ramsdale is therefore very real. The young goalkeeper who overcame Arsenal fans’ skepticism to become a cult hero faces a new fight to save his career, just months after playing all 38 games as the Gunners moved closer to victory in the Premier League for years. title. The fall has been dramatic, especially as he only signed a new contract in May and that is surely the point from which any assessment of the situation must begin.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has every right to change goalkeepers if he feels an upgrade is available. Arsenal wanted Raya before signing Ramsdale. The club’s goalkeeping coach, Iñaki Caña, worked with Raya at Brentford and recommended him. The couple shares the same agent, Jaume Munell. And it was becoming increasingly clear that Raya would leave Brentford for the right price this summer, given he had a year left on his old contract and was keen on a move. Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were among the interested clubs.

So were Arsenal being honest with Ramsdale when he signed a contract extension in May? It’s a question his father, Nick, pondered on a recent edition of the “Highbury Squad” podcast. “That’s purely me. Why would you extend the contract of a goalkeeper or player and then two or three months later…?” he said.

Well, absolutely. Ramsdale’s previous deal ran through 2025 with an option for an additional year. There was no urgent time constraint to renew. His new contract runs until 2026 with a 12-month option, so the main change concerned his salary. Sources told ESPN that Ramsdale has roughly doubled his money with the new deal. So, did he accept the money hoping it would make up for his disappointment in knowing there would be new competitors for his place, or was he in the dark about Arsenal’s plans?

“We had no idea,” Nick Ramsdale continued. “I had no idea. Our family had no idea. Aaron had no idea he wasn’t going to continue playing. All of a sudden he wasn’t playing.”

However, a source contradicts this view, telling ESPN that the club had indicated to the Ramsdale camp that there was a possibility of signing a new goalkeeper. Matt Turner, Ramsdale’s understudy, wanted to play regularly to maintain his place in the United States national team and Arsenal had never extinguished the flame he carried for Raya. We don’t yet know at this stage what the truth really is. Only Ramsdale himself can clarify these mixed messages in a future interview, but for now he must focus on seizing the few opportunities that present themselves with more aplomb than he has demonstrated so far. here.

You can’t force calm. This was demonstrated in Ramsdale’s outing at Brentford last weekend, a game he played only because Raya was ineligible under the terms of his loan. A calamitous first half in which he almost gifted Brentford a goal as he froze in possession and somehow threw the ball into the ground while trying to distribute it, ceding the room for a touch of more confidence afterwards and a clean sheet. But it was nowhere near enough to escape the conclusion that he is struggling to cope with the demotion he is facing.

Arteta simply wants something different from his goalkeeper. Raya is considered superior with the ball at his feet, able to develop from the back and launch attacks with more variety than Ramsdale. Raya is a more conservative presence between the posts. Ramsdale, by his own admission, is a ball of energy who struggles to concentrate for 90 minutes, deliberately engaging with the crowd to sharpen his concentration. He is an affable, open and honest character whose frank interviews are to his credit. But he’s also rough around the edges and it could be argued that this somewhat contradicts Arteta’s meticulous and precise nature.

The Arsenal boss could certainly have handled the situation better. In his first pre-match press conference after dropping Ramsdale for Raya, Arteta was asked about Ramsdale’s reaction in training, the kind of deliberately open-ended question designed to get a manager talking about a subject sensitive.

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about the response of every player in the team, whether they play or not,” Arteta said. It was a crude response that he then corrected later in the week, recognizing that he needed to communicate his thoughts more effectively.

Arteta has also previously suggested that he wishes he had the courage to replace his goalkeeper during matches. The 41-year-old did not specify on what occasions this thought occurred to him, but it is reasonable to assume that Ramsdale was involved at least once, suggesting doubt about what he can do has been around for some time.

More recently, Arteta played down talk of Ramsdale leaving in January by insisting last month that “we will always try to do our best to help them, but it’s a team sport that needs 24 players who have to fill a role – and the role you have in August, it could be very different from the one you have in March.

play

Ramsdale helps his father steal an early Christmas present

Aaron Ramsdale teams up with his dad to bring home a red bauble from the Arsenal tree as a Christmas present.

For his part, Ramsdale might have been better advised to prevent his father from giving interviews to fan channels or from being filmed engaging in games such as stealing Christmas baubles from the Christmas tree located just as the players enter the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal are in a strong position to reject offers for Ramsdale given his contract situation, and they are unlikely to allow a mid-season exit without having a replacement No.2 in their squad. It remains to be seen whether he will push to leave in January, but things are likely to be bleaker in the meantime unless Raya is injured.

Ramsdale could feature in Arsenal’s final Champions League game of the year at PSV Eindhoven in 11 days’ time, with his side already confirmed as Group B winners. He is unlikely to play in a game Arsenal are actually interested in until the third FA Cup round on January 6, although that competition is third on the club’s priority list and he has apparently not yet been told he will be the club’s first choice for the cup. competitions.

Sources have told ESPN that several Premier League clubs have expressed interest in Ramsdale. Wolverhampton Wanderers are keen to loan him out, a prospect which could appeal given Ramsdale has been warned by England boss Gareth Southgate that he needs to play more to secure a place in his squad for Euro 2024. Chelsea are also monitoring the situation .

Surely something must give, because another six months isn’t ideal for anyone.