With just a few weeks until the opening of the January transfer window, Arsenal custodian, Aaron Ramsdale, needs to find a backbone and give Mikel Arteta a taste of his own medicine.
The England international has been treated appallingly by his manager, with Arteta’s suggestion that David Raya was being brought in as competition rather than as the new number one, per the official Arsenal website, already shown to be an out and out lie.
The former Brentford stopper was obviously brought to the club with the clear intention of being their main man in goal and the sooner that Ramsdale understands that the better.
France 24 also noted Arteta’s words as he attempts to keep hold of Ramsdale beyond January.
“We will always try to do our best to help them, but this is a team sport that needs 24 players that have to fulfil a role. And the role that you have in August, it might be very different from the one you have in March,” he said.
“So making early decisions, in my experience, is not something good at all and as well because the team has certain needs that have to be accomplished. And in order to do that you cannot do it with six, 10 or 14 players. It is impossible. So you need everyone and Aaron has a really important role in the team.”
No amount of guilt tripping should stop Ramsdale from essentially sticking two fingers up at Arteta and getting himself a No.1 position elsewhere in order that not only is he playing regular football again, but that he has a genuine chance to be part of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
‘Looking after number one’ has never been a more accurate phrase. Ramsdale owes Arsenal nothing and he certainly doesn’t owe Arteta anything either.
It’s accepted that teams evolve and manager’s want different things, that’s always been part of football, but to go about things in such an underhand manner reflects incredibly badly on the club and its manager.
Ramsdale can do better than being a pawn in Arteta’s game.