Aaron Ramsdale deserves to remain Arsenal’s No 1 – despite David Raya’s likely arrival
Aaron Ramsdale has never been one to hide from a fight. In many ways, his entire footballing career has been a battle. Firstly to find a club, after he was released by Bolton Wanderers at the age of 15, and then to establish himself as a professional.
The lower-league loans, the relegations, the trolls who abused him following his move to Arsenal: these have all been hurdles for Ramsdale to face over the years and, with his usual blend of punchiness and good humour, he has overcome each of them, one by one.
True to form, Ramsdale came into Sunday’s Community Shield against Manchester City with another couple of fights on his hands. No goalkeeper ever has a quiet afternoon against Pep Guardiola’s Treble winners, after all, and no goalkeeper sleeps well before a meeting with Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.
But for Ramsdale there was – and there still is – a bigger battle to be won, given the imminent threat to his position as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper. David Raya is on his way to the Emirates Stadium, provided a deal can be finalised with Brentford, and Ramsdale will know what that means for his own status within the squad.
Arsenal’s intention is to sign Raya as competition for Ramsdale, with backup goalkeeper Matt Turner set to be sold to Nottingham Forest. Raya is not yet in the building but on Sunday it seemed clear that, in Ramsdale’s mind, that contest has already begun. The England goalkeeper’s superb performance against City can therefore be considered the first blow in that forthcoming struggle.
From Arsenal’s perspective, the hope is that the move to strengthen the goalkeeping department will light a fire in Ramsdale. With Turner unlikely to dethrone him any time soon, Ramsdale might have been able to coast. Mikel Arteta wants proper competition in each area of the pitch, and the challenge for Ramsdale will be to stay at the top of his game with one of the league’s best goalkeepers breathing down his neck.
“The competition always exists, whoever it is,” said Arteta. “It has to feel like this, and if it doesn’t feel like this we are not going to get the best out of each player. So we’d better feel like this and make sure we all feel like this. Me first.”
Put simply, Ramsdale showed at Wembley that he deserves his place in this Arsenal team. His distribution was tidy, under intense pressure at times, and his reflexes were sharp in both halves.
The game would have been taken beyond Arsenal’s reach in the second half if it were not for Ramsdale’s quality between the posts. First he saved from Phil Foden, and then he dived low to his right to stop Rodri’s header. He denied Rodri again with a crucial save in the penalty shootout.
Sources close to the Raya deal have made the point that Arsenal have added competition across the pitch this summer. Jurrien Timber, for example, has been signed to play at full-back, despite Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko being so impressive. Declan Rice has been added to challenge Thomas Partey, who was the league’s standout holding midfielder for much of last season.
It does feel different, though, with goalkeepers. Rotation is less straightforward, and it certainly cannot take place within matches themselves. The fight for the No 1 shirt is often more intense, and perhaps more personal, than in any other area of the squad.
It will be fascinating to see, if Raya does indeed join the club, whether the Arsenal supporters call for the Spaniard to be included immediately. The shiny new option is generally more exciting for supporters than the tried-and-tested bloke from Stoke-on-Trent.
In the case of Ramsdale, however, his popularity cannot be questioned. He is an honest, engaging personality and the Arsenal fans love him for it. The reaction to his recent article for the Players’ Tribune, in which he revealed that his wife had a miscarriage last season and vowed to fight homophobia in football, was enormously positive. Ramsdale will always be difficult to dislodge from the hearts of the Arsenal supporters. He proved here that he will not be easily removed from the pitch, either.
