Arsenal played their opening fixture in the Champions League last night. However, one player who was key to qualification was left out by Mikel Arteta.
Football is a harsh sport, especially when you play under a manager as ruthless as Mikel Arteta. That said, this is just a harsh nature of his approach which he learned from Pep Guardiola. In this world, you have to be cruel to succeed.
Arteta managed his first ever Champions League match last night as Arsenal got off to winning ways. It was an impressive attacking performance but one player who stole all the plaudits was the starting goalkeeper David Raya.
Keeping his second consecutive clean sheet, it looks increasingly likely that he could become the new first choice at Arsenal. But what does this mean for Aaron Ramsdale?
Aaron Ramsdale must consider leaving Arsenal and “heartless” Mikel Arteta
Well, the Aston Villa legend and football pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Aaron Ramsdale must consider leaving the club. He claimed that Ramsdale will feel “devastated” to have been dropped last night since he helped the Gunners qualify for the competition, but insisted that the game is heartless.
Already, Aaron Ramsdale has been linked with a move to Chelsea. Indeed, the decision to leave him out of the starting eleven won’t help those rumours from Arsenal’s perspective. Should they wish to keep Ramsdale and put those rumours to bed, he should start for the club again.
But it’s more complicated than that. If Arteta sees Raya as his number one goalkeeper, then no matter how much sugar coating he does to the media, this is the way it will be. If a player comes into the side and upgrades the team, then it’s in the manager’s best interest to keep them in the team, despite how “heartless” it is to his competition.
Do you think David Raya is the first or second choice at Arsenal?