Arteta now told £30m Arsenal outcast is ‘better’ than current starter

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Former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has come out in defence of Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale.

Aaron Ramsdale was handed a start in Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United last night.

Arsenal crashed out of the EFL Cup in ignominious fashion at the London Stadium on Wednesday evening. Whilst Ramsdale didn’t have a howler between the sticks, the 25-year-old will have been desperate to impress Mikel Arteta, having lost his regular starting berth to David Raya.

Opportunities to shine for the north London club are few and far between for Ramsdale these days, who is now something of an outcast at the Emirates Stadium.

The £30 million former Sheffield United shot-stopper has opened up publicly about the pain that losing the No. 1 spot at Arsenal has caused him. If he is to stand any chance of getting his place back, though, he needs to excel when he is given the chance to play.

However, there are those who feel that the England star should never have lost his starting spot in the first place. Mark Schwarzer certainly believes that he has more to offer than Raya, even if the Spaniard is clearly Arteta’s favoured option.

Mark Schwarzer makes Aaron Ramsdale claim

As quoted by BBC Sport during the game against West Ham, Schwarzer said of Ramsdale, “with the way Arteta wants to play, he feels with Raya, he can take the game a little bit further. I think Ramsdale is still good with his feet and a better goalkeeper.”

Ramsdale is certainly too good to be playing a back up role. He has already proven he is capable of shining in the Premier League. He will surely seek to move on from the club if he doesn’t start getting more regular game time soon.

Raya has had some shaky moments since becoming the first choice ‘keeper at Arsenal. The fact that the Brentford loanee hasn’t particularly excelled will certainly give Ramsdale hope that he can still claw his way back up the pecking order.