Arsenal’s goalkeeping situation has come under intense scrutiny this season, and amidst the fury over VAR, David Raya made another costly error against Newcastle.
Mikel Arteta was furious that Anthony Gordon’s winning goal was not disallowed, and perhaps rightly so, but amidst the chaos, Raya was at fault as he struggled to deal with an aerial ball again.
Raya has made a number of high-profile errors since his arrival from Brentford in the summer, and he is beginning to cost Arsenal points with his shaky performances. Given that he replaced a popular figure in Aaron Ramsdale, the whole situation is something of a mess.
Mark Schwarzer criticises Arteta for goalkeeping crisis
Speaking on The Optus Sport Football Podcast, former Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer claimed that Arteta had made a major error by dropping Ramsdale for Raya.
“Everyone’s made mistakes and they make mistakes every single week I mean unfortunately for a lot of managers they won’t admit it right so Mikel Arteta is a great example of that,” he stated following Arteta’s rant after the Newcastle game.
“Let’s not go there with a goalkeeping position because he’s made a massive mistake there!”
Should Arteta drop Raya for Ramsdale?
Although Raya has had a far-from-ideal start to life at Arsenal, he has already shown what he can offer with his long passing.
This is a situation of Arteta’s own making, having targeted and signed Raya despite Ramsdale having an impressive campaign last season.
However, Ramsdale hardly covered himself in glory in Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham in the Carabao Cup, and both keepers look far from their best right now.
Arteta has emphasised that both keepers are in constant contention, and if Ramsdale is to receive a proper chance to earn his place back, he would deserve to start ahead of Raya based on performance levels given Raya’s struggles.
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