Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is expected to drop back to the bench against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, despite keeping yet another clean sheet this weekend.
The 23 year-old signed from Sheffield United this summer, and was initially expected to play as deputy to first-choice Bernd Leno, but has been impressing between the sticks of late.
Ramdsale now has three clean sheets from three competitive outings, including wins against West Brom, Norwich and Burnley, while Arteta may also have his shut-out against Brentford in mind also, one that was played behind closed doors during the international break.
Despite not conceding a single goal, it is reported that Leno has been promised a return to the fold next week when we take on rivals Tottenham in the Premier League, and Danny Mills believes that would be wrong.
“I don’t like it,” Mills told the Football Insider.
“If you hit good form and you’re playing well then you say ‘Well, you’re coming out now. You need to have some time off’. But why? Why are you doing that? What’s the point?
“I don’t get it. You can’t start saying to players ‘In three games time, you’ll have that one off’. Maybe if it’s Cristiano Ronaldo and it’s a League Cup game when you say ‘You’re not going to play in that game because we probably won’t need you’.
“But as a goalkeeper, you’re not going to get fatigued so you just want to keep playing games. I think it just creates more doubt over who is the number one and who is in charge.”
I certainly hope that Arteta will be naming our best possible XI when we take on Tottenham this weekend, and am struggling to believe that the goalkeeper who hasn’t had to pick the ball out of his net since joining could be dropped for such a crucial match.
Patrick