Arsenal’s decision to spend £30m to sign goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from relegated Sheffield United in the summer of 2021 was initially met with widespread ridicule, but the England international soon shifted the narrative.
The 2021/22 season was an excellent one for Ramsdale, whose statistics put him up with the Premier League’s elite, and critics were soon accepting that Arsenal had actually got this one right.
And yet here we are, two years later, and Arsenal are looking at signing a new goalkeeper – one they actually wanted before they ended up with Ramsdale – David Raya of Brentford. The Spaniard has publicly been valued at £40m for months, so this isn’t a throw-away deal. If Mikel Arteta wants to pull the trigger on this one, it’ll have a significant impact on his squad.
So, the question is: why would Arsenal want a new goalkeeper?
Ramsdale was under immediate pressure when he moved to Arsenal. Having been relegated in back-to-back Premier League seasons, his CV hardly looked good enough for a top-four hopeful like the Gunners.
Arteta had faith, however, and would quickly be rewarded as Ramsdale established himself as an integral part of the squad in 2021/22. His save percentage of 73.4% put him among the Premier League’s top performers and he was in the top three for goals prevented across the division.
Ramsdale’s willingness to play with the ball at his feet also made him a huge part of Arteta’s preferred setup, and his performances across the year deservedly saw him handed a debut for England.
Simply put, yes.
While 2022/23 was by no means a poor season for Ramsdale, it did not match the heights of his debut campaign at the Emirates. His statistics were no longer elite and simply fell around the average mark for Premier League goalkeepers.
Ramsdale’s save percentage fell to 70.6%, good enough for 11th in the Premier League, and coincidentally, Raya soared to the top of the rankings with a percentage of 77.7%.
Competition for minutes is key to Arteta’s mindset. Even his top stars have been made to believe that somebody is raring to steal their spot after a few poor performances.
At right-back, Jurrien Timber has been brought in to compete with Ben White even though the Englishman barely put a foot wrong last season. Leandro Trossard came in January to compete with Gabriel Martinelli even though the latter was enjoying his best season of his career. Even the signing of Kai Havertz, a right-sided forward, can be seen as a warning to Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus.
Matt Turner was signed as competition for Ramsdale in 2022 when his stock was at his highest. The American started for his national team and was named the 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, and there were genuine hopes that he would push Ramsdale, but those results have not been achieved.
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Signing Raya is not about giving up on Ramsdale. If anything, it’s a move designed to drag the Englishman back to his best.
It’s all about competition. Arteta signed Ramsdale as competition for Bernd Leno and, when he decided the German’s levels had not risen, made the former his number one. The message to his players is that minutes will be handed to whoever deserves them, so nobody can afford to get comfortable.
Ramsdale has done nothing to deserve being benched, and his starting role will stay his for as long as he deserves it. However, if Raya deserves it more, Arteta will not be afraid to make a tough call.
Raya offers a lot of the same skill set as Ramsdale. His save numbers are impressive and his willingness to play with the ball at his feet makes him a desirable asset for most elite teams.
Arsenal have not emerged out of nowhere in pursuit of Raya. Indeed, the Spaniard was their top target to compete with Bernd Leno in 2021 but Brentford’s refusal to lower their asking price saw them move for Ramsdale instead.
Gunners goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, who helped convince Raya to sign for Brentford before his own move to the Emirates in 2019, is evidently an enormous fan of the stopper who, as Thomas Frank put it recently, was one of the ‘top four goalkeepers’ in the Premier League last season.
The interest in Raya is genuine and the player himself is prepared to move into an environment in which he would not be guaranteed minutes. Raya wants the fight and Arsenal want somebody with that exact mindset.
The main stumbling block is Brentford’s asking price. Arsenal declined to pay £30m to sign him two years ago and have now been quoted £40m, despite the 27-year-old entering the final year of his contract. Brentford are not interested in handing out any bargains.
Arsenal are not the only suitors for Raya – Bayern Munich made contact late last month – but that £40m valuation continues to be problematic. Tottenham walked away from a deal because of it and plenty of other suitors have baulked for the same reason.
There’s no guarantee that Arsenal will bite the bullet and go for this one, but if they do, it’ll be the result of lengthy discussions and analysis. The Gunners believe they’re on to something here, but there’s a long way to go yet.
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