Ramsdale's Arsenal exit 'inevitable' after brutal Arteta response
Tom Weber
- 28 Nov 2023 03:42 CST
- 3 min read
Mikel Arteta's responses to two questions on Aaron Ramsdale after the weekend's game make it clear that the goalkeeper's Arsenal days are numbered.
Ramsdale was given a rare start by Arteta against Brentford because David Raya, as part of his loan agreement, was not eligible to face his parent club. The Spaniard arrived from the Bees in the summer and kickstarted one of the strangest goalkeeper sagas of the campaign.
When Raya was signed, Arteta insisted that he wanted to have two number ones and that his compatriot would not come in to simply replace the solid Ramsdale who was between the sticks last term as the Gunners challenged Man City for the title.
Quite soon, however, Raya did replace Ramsdale and the England international has only featured eight times all season. The current situation is untenable because Arteta has put unnecessary pressure on both Ramsdale and Raya, neither of whom have been flawless when on the pitch this term.
Arteta's brutal response
The pressure is getting to Ramsdale and it was evident on more than one occasion against Brentford despite him ultimately keeping a clean sheet. As the Evening Standard points out, it was instructive to see that the Arsenal players went straight over to Ramsdale, rather than goalscorer Kai Havertz, after the match.
Equally instructive were Arteta's responses when asked about Ramsdale after the match. Despite being questioned specifically about the goalkeeper, Arteta made no mention of the 25-year-old and instead praised the team.
"I think I am so happy with the team that the way they performed we got the clean sheet, and I'm so happy the way everybody played." Pressed on Ramsdale looking shaky, he said: “I think the team was exceptional today.”
The Spaniard has moved on from Ramsdale and the latter's nerves during the game made it clear that it is only a matter of time before he will head for the exit, though at this stage a January move is still unlikely. There have, however, already been approaches for the shot-stopper.
