Thomas Frank gets annoyed after post-game question on Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale

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Arsenal secured a hard-fought victory over Brentford on Saturday night, in a game which saw Aaron Ramsdale return to the starting lineup.

The goalkeeper had not appeared in the Premier League since early September, but with David Raya ineligible to face his parent club, Ramsdale came back in.

Whilst he did manage to keep a clean sheet, with Kai Havertz’s late winner securing all three points, Ramsdale did not have his best game, as he was caught in possession on a few occasions by Brentford’s attackers.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank was asked about Ramsdale, with the Arsenal goalkeeping situation a hot topic leading into the game, but Frank was not too pleased with this.

Thomas Frank’s annoyance at Ramsdale question

In his post-match press conference, Frank was asked whether his side had specifically targeted Ramsdale when in possession, and his response was a frustrated one.

“Yeah I understand why you guys, this is the third time, in fact, the fifth time I’ve got this question throughout the TV cameras and the radio,” he stated.

“You guys that follow us every week know that we press high, know that we press the keeper.

“We were doing exactly the same for most of it, we did exactly the same last week against Alisson so yes it’s the plan, but we do it every week.”

Ramsdale’s nerves in possession

Ramsdale did not have his best game, having been handed a big opportunity to stake a claim to win his place back, and he looked far from his confident self when on the ball.

Brentford do typically press high on the goalkeeper, and as Frank has stated, Ramsdale playing instead of Raya had nothing to do with their own game plan.

Some have questioned whether Raya coming in has killed Ramsdale’s confidence, but Jamie Carragher defended Mikel Arteta for his decision to upgrade his goalkeepers.

Although many believe that there is little difference between the two options, perhaps Ramsdale’s discomfort on the ball showed why Raya is now Arteta’s preferred option.

During Arsenal’s victory over Manchester City in October, Raya made similar mistakes as the one Ramsdale made in the first half, but he also showed how composed he could be on the ball, as he helped slow the game down before playing long-passes to Gabriel Jesus.

Ramsdale initially replaced Bernd Leno two years ago, with his ability on the ball a huge factor in the decision, and Raya now replacing him has happened based on a similar desire by Arteta to have more composure between the sticks.