On Tuesday Arsenal showed the character you need to be Champions.
Declan Rice produced another moment to support that he’s been one of (if not) the player of the season.
When you think of our trip to Brentford and our games against both clubs from Manchester, last night wasn’t the only time we scored a late goal.
All of that is true.
Yet with seconds to go at Kenilworth Road the narrative was David Raya’s latest howlers as a Gunner.
As Saka pointed out, at 3-3 it’s not that Arsenal hadn’t played well.
Take nothing away from Luton’s effort, but the Hatters didn’t have to do too much for their 3 goals.
Our keeper had given two early Xmas gifts to turn our 2-1 advantage into us chasing the game 3-2.
Like he had done at Lens, the Bridge, Saint James Park and the NLD. That’s not to mention passing the ball to Alvarez and Palmer.
I could just focus on the 3 points. Solely concentrate on a 5-point lead at the top of the table.
Yet it would be neglect to ignore an obvious flaw.
I think it would be incompetence from our manager.
Surely the best time for any coach to identity an issue is when the team is still winning. It means you can fix the situation before any serious danger.
Instead, we seem to be waiting for a moment where we won’t be saved in stoppage time. When that happens, we can’t say we haven’t been warned.
I fear that will happen, because for Raya to be dropped Mikel Arteta will have to admit he’s got something wrong, and his ego is too huge to do that.
Don’t get me wrong, the very best stick to their convictions and don’t get pressured to change their thinking. Yet it takes skill to also recognise when your decision isn’t working and adapt.
In a title race that could be decided on small margins I hope the Spaniard’s pride doesn’t cost us everything. Because it’s only his arrogance to admit he’s wrong that is keeping Raya in goal.
In 15 appearances on loan with us he hasn’t done anything to justify his stay in North London becoming permanent.
Yet it seems we have already given Brentford our word that we will take up the option to buy him for 27 million.
Arteta speaks well and is smart enough to know what the media and our fanbase want to hear.
The 41-year-old has gotten away with ripping up contracts and wasting a lot of money for the club.
Yet this could be a step too far.
Two years ago, he convinced Edu to invest 30 million on a 23-year-old in a position well known for a player not reaching their peak till past the age of 30. So, at the time the assumption was they were content for their goalie to learn on the job?
As recently as May he approved Ramsdale extending his deal and getting a pay rise.
The Kroenke Family have every right to ask why after investing 30 million on one keeper are they being asked to fund 27 million for someone not as good?
Arteta likes to refer to himself as ruthless for dropping a keeper who played a major part in us returning to the Champions League for the first time in 6 years.
Mistakes in the title run in was enough for Arteta to lose faith in his number 1. Shouldn’t he then hold the same standards for Raya as well?
We were told selection would be based on a game-to-game basis, that there was no first choice, that competition would bring out the best in both. That there was a temptation to even sub his keeper as a tactical switch.
All lies!
Because no matter how the stage looks too big for Raya, however heavy he’s being weighed down by the badge, no matter running out to claim a corner and grasping fresh air, allowing a ball to go through his legs …Raya will start at Villa Park.
Because Arteta not admitting he’s wrong is more important than what’s best for the team.
How can that be right?
He paid Ozil to sit at home while he took us to our worst position in quarter of a century while bemoaning a lack of creativity.
He gave Aubameyang to Barcelona then watched Lacazette and Nketiah fail to fire us into the top 4.
Some Gooners were manipulated into thinking that was okay.
Picking Raya, no matter how many errors?
I think the majority won’t tolerate that.
Dan
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It’s not a matter of Big Ego, it’s a matter of inexperience and incompetence. If Arteta sell
Rammy it will be a mistake that cost him the job. Aaron Ramsdale is Englands comming number one goalkeeper. For five-ten years…
Is “Ego and incompetence” the reason why we are at the pinnacle of the EPL table as on date? And was that the reason we were the only team to challenge City last year? Utter nonsense! I was a Rams fanboy but he admitted to losing his concentration during games and that only is the sole reason he is on the rightfully on the bench today. With Raya we are conceding a few but also scoring. His distribution is spot on. There were a few who wanted Onana when he was on the sidelines at Ajax. Well done Mikel for letting that chance pass. Trust Mikel, trust the El Magico. And as for Dan, wake up mate, under Mr. Wenger we were not wining the EPL every other year. And for the Ozil fan club Muppets still over, kindly note that Emery with a bunch of nobodies defeated City in the EPL and sits above them, something your Ozil could never achieve either for Mr. Wenger or Emery or Mikel. Last reminder, your little boy fell out at Fenerbahçe too. Too bad for the fan club. Stop writing trash about the creativity, if there was any, it was due to the brilliance of Alexis Sanchez. Period.
I agree on the Ozil point, but Raya just makes too many mistakes. We are top of the premier league despite Raya not because of him. He is being bailed out by the outfield as his many mistakes (I can think of 5 goals lost and the same again in near misses) don’t seem so serious when the team wins. All goalkeepers make mistakes but he makes more than most. As for his distribution it has been average at best.
To LC- bravo, great answer. Dan , take off your glasses and look the truth . And to mention Ozil in your article- that was extremely stupiddddd.
Unfortunately, both Raya and Ramsdale are prone to errors. But Arteta should punish Raya for his inabilities to stop Luton from scoring in set-pieces/ tight angle, by reinstating Ramsdale
If Ramsdale makes another error at Villa Park, Arteta could bench him again to send the same message to both GKs
I don’t think Arteta will survive if he ends the season without a trophy and a CL ticket, so he must be ruthless and play safe
Do you have a replacement manager in mind?
Not that I’m in favour of it happening but De Zerbi would be a good shout.
He certainly would!
Chelsea too thought the same of Graham Potter and the rest is history. Mikel>Klopp, the EPL does not lie nor does it rest on bias.
@SueP
It’s flavour of the month kind of stuff each season.
We have gone through the list since Arteta was appointed.
From
Brendon Rogers
Mourinho
Conte
Tuchel
Patrick Vieira
Big Sam
Graham Potter
Ten Haag
Eddie Howe Etc..
And Wenger too was even suggested at some time to come out of retirement, take over and steady the ship until we could find a better manager.
Now De Zerbi shiny thing this season.
Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann or Xabi Alonso
But I hope Kroenke won’t sack Arteta if he just gives us a CL ticket without any trophy, because Arteta is a very talented young manager and Arsenal have been playing attractively with his tactics
Its too soon to be even talking about Arteta sacking. Mind that what he has done to the club is valueless. After years of bewilderness Arsenal fans are enjoying football again. To be talking about that top spot and be competitive against each club in the world is already something that we forgot about for last 15-20 yrs. All we could talk about was if we can get that 4th spot or not. But its quite evident to everyone out in planet that Raya is not upto the standard, I still think he might be our worst keeper of all time, never seen any keeper so good at committing mistakes on such regular basis. And we still have game against Aston villa and Liverpool, and we can be easily displaced in 3rd or 4th spots if we don’t perform in highest standard in these matches so now we have no room for mistakes and Arteta must also be knowing this and really need to be fixed.
We once had the Spanish waiter. Almunia.
Let us trust Arteta. Arsenal was knocked out of the Europa league last season due to some goal keeping error from Ralmsdale. Football can be unfair a times. It is what it is. What matters at the end of the day is for the club to be successful.
0⁰If Ramsdale is not in goal for the next game he should ask for a transfer Monday morning. Arteta should be man enough to admit he has caused a problem where one did not exist and reinstate Ramsdale. But his ego won’t have that.
Could not agree more, Ramsdale was in the PFA team of the year and was nominated for the Yashin trophy, Raya was well so good that Brentford could not replace him….oh right they did really easily. Ramsdale baled us out so many times last season, not sure we would have done so well without him. Incedently the keeper that won the Yashin trophy was Emmy Martinez another Arteta reject. Surely Arteta must see he has made an error but won’t swallow his pride and put it right.
Gai, I am a business man. Most fans forget Arsenal is a business entity and Arteta has employers. You don’t want to inject millions into a business without wanting a return of profits. Arteta knows his abilities would be questioned if he can’t win trophies and get Arsenal into another UCL.
The obvious thing is that Arteta has personal sentiments for Raya and they are both Spanish. Like the article writter righly said “I hope it doesn’t cost him his job”
How else do you put a keeper under check if he keeps making errors and a coach continues to play him. Where is the healthy competition for both keepers then. Raya would be overconfident despite a gradual decline.
Accusing him of racism is just lazy speculation with zero foundation.
The obvious thing here is a disgraceful slur.
I agree with GAI… incompetence shouldn’t be reawarded with another start, especially if you have an equally great option like Ramsdale availabile. Guardiola wouldn’t take it.
Having said that, I respect his decision to stick to his conviction about Raya, and I think everyone should too. If for nothing, for the fact that sticking with Havertz is now proving good. There is a reason he is the manager and none of us are.
Who would have thought that Maguire will be names MVP?
named*
I like Arteta, think he’s the right person for the task at hand, but he needs a season hand along side him one he respect and will listen to.
This goal keeping dilemma needs to resolve, it was totally unnecessary, he needs to come clean and declare if the King is indeed dead?
Could it just be that Arteta simply rates Raya higher than Ramsdale, and believes that it will be better for the team in the long term, rather than just being something about his ego?
If he believes that Raya is the better option but takes him out just to look good in public that would be letting his ego get the better of him.
There’s a fine line between stubbornness and conviction, which will probably only become clear at the end of the season.
It’s take an ego to see something obviously not working and not change it
Not sticking by your convictions to appease others is also wrong.
I think he truely believes that Raya is the better keeper and just needs a little more time, I don’t see that as being an ego problem. He’s the manager and is paid to make the decisions he personally feels are best for the club. On the other hand he’s also responsible for the results (which, to be fair, he has been getting).
We’ll only know who was right when the season’s over.
Good points ArGooner. There are quite often comments on this site to the effect that Arteta has an ego problem and a favoritism problem. That, for instance, he keeps playing player A over player B even though he knows player B is the better player, either because player A is his favorite, or because he can’t admit he was wrong for paying too much for player A etc.
I tend to think that Arteta plays the players that he does because he thinks they are the best option based on what he sees in practice, in games, in their character, in fulfilling a longer range plan that he has etc. I think there is too much pressure to win to think that a coach would overlook a player that he thinks is the best choice because of his ego or favoritism.
Those claiming favouritism etc are often simply displaying their own biases because their preferred players are being benched.
In a few cases it is because of unnecessary cynicism and scepticism (e.g. Havertz).
Raya has made some mistakes recently which are unexpected of a high level goalkeeper. However, analysis of his play over the last few years suggests that he has been one of the best all round GKs in the PL. His passing is very good. This is particularly evident in his long passing which is amongst the best. His saving stats were superior to Ramsdale’s.
There are analytics which are likely factors in the preference for Raya rather than the ridiculous notion that Arteta is on some kind ego trip as favoured by a few people on this site.
But time is running out. We have already played one third of league and group stage of CL and still can’t figure out what is he good at. He is very poor at aerial ability, command in the box, strength. Neither his ball distribution has been good this season, nor he has made some game defining saves, not has performed any man of the match performance. So question is how long we going to keep faith in him? After we give up on title? I think only reason he keep on getting the chance is that Arteta might think Ramsdale is even more prone to injury that Raya as it was showcased in game against Brentford. So, looks like going for the third keeper in January window might be the best option available to us.
Yea we see what happens at the end of the season.
Arteta wants the title more than anything else in his life. He can do things that really look stupid, like in the case of Raya Ramsdale.. he thought it would be more useful for the team a a goalkeeper should have skills with his feet as well. That’s right, Raya is much better than Ramsdale, but we’re talking about a goalkeeper, and in his duties, Ramsdale is better. I don’t think so That he will continue to turn a blind eye. Raya is already responsible for the defeat at Newcastle, and within a hair of another two points at Luton. Arteta will no longer overlook, it will be tough for him if he thinks that the title can change the road, thanks to the traffic warden.if he thinks that the title can change the road, thanks to the traffic warden.
By the way where does “Yet it seems we have already given Brentford our word that we will take up the option to buy him for 27 million” come from?
There’s a lot of speculation that they will indeed make it permanent, but I have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that we’ve told Brentford that.
Reported by various outlets that we have told Brentford that
Reports that are all based on Romano’s tweet from two weeks ago that he “understands Arsenal have decided to seal David Raya deal in 2024 — it’s all guaranteed as buy option clause will be triggered for £27m.
Raya already signed potential long-term contract as #AFC player for June 2024 — all done.”?
I mean, I admit Romano tends to be right more often than he is wrong, but it’s been completely silent since then. For a deal that was supposedly all complete it’s strange nothing more has come out.
Not saying he won’t sign permanently, but second-rate websites parrotting tweets isn’t exactly the benchmark for journalistic integrity.
Its not about the news. Its about transfer business clubs do. Do you think Brentford will run a risk of loossing Raya free next summer if Arsenal don’t buy him. If Arteta and team has not made some arrangement to made this transfer permanent then Brentford could have sold Raya to any suitable club for say 20M. They are not Arsenal to throw away their asset as free agent.
They wouldn’t lose him for free because he signed a one-year extension with Brentford before the loan, and it’s only an option to buy.
Oh ArGooner, surely you know better than to spoil unfounded rumours by telling the truth!
It is expected onJA that either we fantasise and fool ourselves ,or tell lies, or peddle daft conspiracy theories – like MA and his supposed “ego”, which apparently stops him making wise decisions and keeps him sticking by his personal beliefs.
So how dare you tell the truth, so brazenly , you naughty man!
And also how dare you bring your fine intellect and your keen brain to this site. Stop it at once!!
That wasn’t your question
You asked where has it been reported
When Arteta brought in Ramsdale, many criticized him for bringing a “low level goalkeeper” who had been relegated with two different clubs. At the end of the day, we’re all saying Ramsdale should be reinstated which means Arteta saw something we did not see and proved us wrong. Let’s leave him to sink/swim with his decisions. No one would want the premier league trophy more than him to boost his CV.
I would stick with Raya. I think it was a lack of concentration due to him falling a sleep for the lack of shots on target by Luton and then he was woken up by a surprised fews shots. Where as Ramsdale mistakes were school boy errors and he just got lucky the defence bailed him out. Give Raya another go and if he does it in one of the next few matches then give Ramsdale another go. Raya distribution was great, and he is normally ace at collecting corners, so he edges it over Ramsdale.
Raya at fault for both goals. Not great defending on either occasion. Ramsdale is certainly superior when defending against tough oppisition !!
Still feel that a bigger problem is still Havertz !!
He spent most of the first half jogging around the pitch at half pace ! Yes he did score second half but the goal was put on a plate for him by Jesus. The others Rice,Odegaard,Saka,Jesus and Martinelli were working their socks off and in this situation it was good enough but in bigger games you cant afford to have passengers.
Ramsdale seems better in dealing with arial balls than Raya.
Yes. How Raya is performing currently their is no benefit with playing Raya. Instead play Ramsdale. at least he will get better with experience.
IMHO bringing Ramsdale back in the next game would make him more nervous and want to prove that he can do better than Raya. See what happened to him in the Brentford game.
If I was Arteta I would give him a chance in the UCL game against PSV, which he can play without pressure and regain his confidence.
That’s probably the best idea if MA ever intends to give him a chance (which I’ve always doubted). The thing is, if Aaron does do great, even greater outside pressure will be put on David to perform and it doesn’t appear that he is handling even the current situation very well. Again, it comes back to the original decision made by MA which has caused everything from day one. MA seems to be a fine manager overall but he needs to be ruthless again one way or the other and also let the fans know what’s truly going on.
Arteta has no obligation to “admit” to anything. He can make any team related decisions he pleases without informing the media (or JA) of his reasons or intentions.
I hope he does rotate the keepers now though, before Ramsdale puts in a transfer request.
But JAX, surely Arteta ought to do excatly as we fans all say and not make his own decisions. I mean anyone would think that MA thinks he is paid to make decisions and act as a self assured manager , by the awful way he ignores so many of our fans requests to play him or another him or yet another him and to leave out so and so and such and such How dare he not obey us all !!
I REALISE THAT WOULD CAUSE HIM PROBLEMS, AS WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT OPINONS AND HE CAN NOT POSSIBLY PLEASE US ALL. But that is his problem, not ours, and I think he really OUGHT to try to please ALL our fans and to stop making decisions by himself. How dare he!
WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS!!
After all we are ONLY five points clear at the top. He needs to do better, or be sacked!
Yep, his only possible recourse would be to sign Dan Smith up as his chief advisor.
Well JAX, I think surely he must sign DAN up to advise him and tell him how to manage and to do so ASAP.
Otherwise, MA ought surely to be sacked and DAN APPOINTED AS THE NEW MANAGER.
It’s not advise silly
It’s factual , Raya is making too many errors
It’s not my opinion he made a mistake for two goals , it’s right in front of your eyes
Yeah because Ramsdale never did that ?
Last season Jon I said we won’t win the title relying on Eddie to replace Jesus and was told …..we are top
We were once top by 5 points in Jan with Almunia in goal and right said he needs replacing
Oh we beat Luton and went 5 clear because of his great keeper
I watched a different game
I saw us having to score a 4th to bail him out
Mikel answers to none of us. Keep your ideas to yourself.
Does that mean we won’t be hearing from you anymore Vamos?
Just going to write the same ken.
I don’t do who plays or not as there are other ways i can contribute to a fan forum. Rather pointless trying to tell a professional how to do his job.
Vamos, Admirable sentiment!
But if no one gave our opinion on who should play or not play, JA would be even harder up for something meaningful to discuss than this site is RIGHT NOW, with its constant rehashing of samey articles written over and over and over again.
So be a good lad and help poor old JA out by giving your own opinions on team matters!
And as for being “pointless” well that is true of course, but we are able to let off our own hot steam on here and that is cathartic to the egos which we ALL have,football fans being what we are!
We are all helpless football and Arsenal addicts on JA but if there is a point at all to JA, well I reckon helping we hopelessly addicted football and Arsenal addicts to let off steam, is perhaps , the ONLY real point of ANY fansite , anywhere!
ok, admin, shut down the website. You heard the guy.
🤣🤣🤣
Dan is right on the money, and literally so!
“Literally”? Then that means DAN HAS MONEY BENEATH HIS BODY RIGHT NOW.
I would agree he may figuratively be “on the money” though.
I like Havertz, it may seem strange, yet I do.
However, why did we have to pay 65mil for him when no ther team is falling over each other to get him?
I thought Raya had a very poor game last night, but so has Ramsdale of course.
I find it illogical to keep going back to the early days of MA, likewise the latter days of AW and UE… what’s the point, unless it’s to correct a wrong statement?
MA will make the decision that HE feels is the best for the club and his future as our manager.
Ego? I’m pretty certain we ALL have egos, perhaps replace the word with opinion, which we also have of course.
I’ve come to terms with the way MA manages and find it tedious to keep challenging everything he does.
If, at the end of the season, his style of management fails to bring us trophies and/or top four again, then that’s the time to suggest his ego, lies and any other relevant issue Dan wants to throw into the mix – if, on the other hand, we win the PL, CL, FA CUP and PLAY in the CL again, I’m sure his perceived weaknesses will be of no concern whatsoever.
Ken I want to associate myself with all you wriite,
Although I make no secret of the fact that I personally far prefer Ramsdale to Raya and saw no problem with RAMSDALE at all, until RAYA came in and was made first choice.
THAT however is merely the opinion of me, a fan who has never rmanaged a top football club and never will be asked to either, strange as that may seem!!
Essentially though Ken, I accept that all fans will naturally have our own opinions and want tthe club manager to do as we urge him and to play so and so or drop such and such, but MA IS THE CHOSEN CLUB MANAGER.
Moreover, he has our team five points clear at the Prem top, despite having “an ego” , “an agenda”, “his favourites”, telling lies”, “preferring English players to foreigners”and a host of other obvious faults that only CERTAIN FANS CAN EVER SEE.
Dan is among those “wise” fans who can clearly see Artetas “ego”and all his other “faults” that have prevented MA FROM HAVING US TWENTY POINTS CLEAR AT THE TOP, INSTEAD OF A MERE, MEASLY FIVE POINTS.
Surely MA, with all those faults must be close to being sacked!
Now, whereever did I leave that straitjacket!!
Jon, as you know, I have questioned Mikel on many occasions, but it is also right and proper to acknowledge the tremendous strides forward he has made… with the undeniable backing of our owner, who seems to trust him 100% with everything Arsenal.
I do believe MA has made one awful headache for himself with the goalkeeping situation, especially when he stated that he wanted to substitute said position during a game.
I was livid with what I could only see as an embarrassing and frustrating defeat, with two goals down to Raya, but MA would not select a player to stroke his ego – he desperately wants to succeed and I will support him, at least until the end of the season.
Could not agree more KEN. I see so much good and doing things the the right way in MA.
But like you, I think he has made TWO pigs ears about keepers.
Firstly, keeping LENO when Martinez is clearly a far superior keeper. And then ,after sensibly buying and trusting RAMSDALE, then making, IMO a costly mistake, (not financially costly) but in underrating a top keeper in Ramsdale and way overrating a lesser keeper who he sees as being better with the ball at his feet. I dont see how , even if he is better with feet, – which I personally don t see – choosing an inferior and SMALLER PHYSICALLY keeper as number one is anything but a bad mistake. Raya has impressed very few, if any fans , hardly surprisingly given his poor general play
But like you, I WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MA .And I CANNOT SEE THAT SUPPORT STOPPING AT THIS SEASONS END, unless we bomb spectacularly, and he loses the dressing room,which common sense tells me is NOT going to happen.
He definitely “AINT PERFICK” but I cannot envisage us getting,or wanting either, a better manager for the foreseeable future.
The talk of him having “an ego” is of course silly nonsense and not the view of brighter fans.
I am late in commenting, but I couldn’t agree more with both Ken1945 and Jon Fox here. There seems to be a desire to see a character flaw in Arteta (ego & favoritism) rather than understand that he wants to win and will therefore choose the players that he thinks are best for any given game, i.e. his opinion. Of course each of us will often have a different opinion than Arteta and that is the whole point of sites like this to express those opinions. But I find it a bit disingenous to suggest that Arteta would overlook and not play players that he believes (knows?) are better and instead choose inferior players because of his ego or favoritism i.e. he doesn’t care about winning. Surely he cares about winning as much as any of us (if not more).
TZ, Thank God there are still SOME on JA able to think and write logically, and able to see things clearly and state that fact. Well said!
I have no complaints with you having concerns, Dan, with the ability or lack of, between both Ramsdale and Raya, but before long you are back on your specialist subject – Arteta’s giant size ego, his propensity to lie, and the good old chestnut of letting Ozil and Auba sit at home. Indeed, how long will the Kroenke family continue their unwavering financial support of him when we are currently doing so well in the Champions league and grinding out wins on the home front? I recall countless articles and posts complaining that we were pushovers, weak mentality etc etc but now we have been getting over the line. Great improvement as far as I am concerned.
Hiccups occur, ask Pep, and Raya had a poor game. He has had some other wobbly moments but then again, so has Ramsdale.
Arteta may well have wished he had done things a little differently, but we are where we are now and he will have to make his mind up on what happens next and earn his salary. I am not sold on either keeper – is Arteta? – so he may begin searching the classified ads for a new one come May. One of many GK’s he has tried!
There is no doubt the deal to take Raya is cast in stone.
But it is becoming a distraction and if we should lose a couple games on the spin,
things could spiral out of control.
My only solution is to send the Englishman on loan, with a built in clause to guarantee first team action
That means Heim is deputy goalie
Can’t let Rambo go.
Even Vito Mannone is better than Raya.
Too small weak on crosses
For a player to out jump a goalie that is also jumping with out stretch arms is awful, when you take into consideration he wasn’t even been block from reaching the ball is very strange
Most said it would be a problem. And the truth is, IT IS. The keeper situation.
Why even make the public statements about “competition” when that is one thing we have not seen regarding our GK?
Best to just play Raya and let his results justify the move, or simply say he prefers Raya for reasons x, y, and z.
Otherwise, stop the nonsense about “competition” , in game adjustments, or how form matters.
Actions do not reflect the statements.
It has been “fixed”. He will stick with Raya until the end of the season no matter what any of us think. We’ll see in the end if it’s the correct decision. I agree with most fans that Mikel created a problem that didn’t really exist. Or at the very least was not a major issue for us last season.
That said, the mess will come after this season. Do we pay 30mill to make this a permanent deal? I don’t see how anyone can say yes based on his performances. The upgrade of passing out the back is noticeable for sure. But at the cost of a downgrade in almost every other aspect compared to Ramsdale… maybe not. I’d just look into the market again and hold onto Aaron until a replacement is found.
Good points, so far not worth the money.
I 2nd your thoughts.
Honestly I don’t know who MA should stick with Raya or Ramsdale
I really don’t know
I just hope that he picks the right one
So not a lot between them? Not sure that was the plan.
Arteta is not arrogant but just cautious. He knows the players more than you and I. So, allow him manage the team as best as he can.
So are we just going to ignore the awful defending from corners that gifted them the first two goals because it’s easier to blame Raya? Where was his protection for either of the first two goals?
I’m not going to try to defend him for their third because it was awful but I think we should stop bemoaning his inclusion in the team. Everyone’s acting like Ramsdale is a pedigree when he is more than capable of just as many mistakes.
The truth is we have 2 different styles of goalie. Ramsdale is a better shot stopper, while Raya is a superior footballer. Raya will keep his place, so let’s just stop moaning and get on with it.
If he(Ateta) can only shelve his ego, and do the needful, accept you got this whole goalkeeping choices situation wrong, then advice from those who have tried this experiment and it failed them, now that Raya has been found wanting, then give Ramsdel another chance.
Had we kept Martinez, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Jus sayin
Guys , stop saying BS about Martinez- He (Martinez) was DEMANDING to be first choice goalie, he was arrogant and nobody will fulfill his wish.
So he was sold. That’s it. No one is bigger than Arsenal
There’s no doubt in my mind Martinez is the best of the 3 keepers we’ve had on our books of late. Yet he was unappreciated and sold to Villa for what? 10 million. Now we have 2 inferior keepers, each valued for way more!
And to simply just drop Ramsdale for Raya after a great season last year with very little to complain about when he started this season seems ridiculous. A lesson in how to destroy club loyalty?
Peter Oksen
Peter
I wouldn’t disagree with you on Martinez but I think we sold him for 20m but I ould be wrong and he didn’t want to stay because 99% assurance of being no.1 wasn’t enough for him plus at this moment in time he is far older and more experienced then the other 2
He stuck about with us for ever and a day playing 3 if not 4th choice keeper
He was out.on loan all over the place and didn’t pull up any trees on his performances when onload
Went through 3 managers who didn’t have him as there no.1 until his last season with us.
Raya at this moment in time doesn’t seem to be the answer a d I would have stuck with AR but saying that
He cost us big points as part of the team last season in the run in
Hasn’t done him self any favours with his and his dad’s interviews.
Do hope he has it in him to stay and fight for his place and did Martinez did all those years back .
He’s young enough and still relatively inexperienced in goal keeping terms to mature in to a top top keeper for us if he is prepared to grind it out and show what he is made of. If he does that then we will get the best out of him in the long term
Onwards and upwards
Thanks Alanball08 for providing the correct facts regarding Martinez. It is important for everyone to realize that the only time he performed at anywhere near the level he is now is in the few performances after he was able to take over for Leno at the end of the ’19-’20 season. He forced Arsenal’s hand based on very limited (albeit excellent) top flight work. It was a risky move for him which paid off when Aston Villa came calling. Between his refusal to accept further loans and the transfer funds received, I believe it is very similar to the reasons why Balogun is no longer with us.
Big ups to Unai and Aston Villa. They outplayed City from box to box and whistle to whistle.
We had better be ready for them or we’re gonna get spanked. Jus sayin
@NY_Gunner, I didn’t watch the match but after your comment I decided to check the match statistics, I must say I was shocked. Unai is really doing a good job with the team
Not shocked at all, fantastic coach and if he was giving the backing MA received we would be 2 years ahead of our “project”
Really? lol. He got his backing though according to his laid out format to the board so non story we are in a better place.
Sure, he was sacked, when we were 10’th midway through the season, and plenty of money was spent on his plan.
Those are the facts, but you are free to imagine anything you want.
AndersS, you keep saying plenty of money was spent on his plan, but once again you ignore the fact that he was the COACH.
He was there to COACH the players that were bought in by the club.
He wanted Zaha and got Pepe – why are you trying to rewrite what is factual?
He was let go when the club was in 10th position, but not one single player was signed by him.
Pj-sa
I don’t think anyone here is doubting UE is a very good coach but he is not a fantastic coach.
I said it before and that he was not right for us at the time and we were not right for him at the time
As for 2 years head of the project.
Would thst mean we would have won the league by now?
MA has his flaws amd the gial jeepi g situation is one if them but imo he is doing a great job for us
Given us fans and the team the belief that we can go on and be champions and it will be when and not if .
Do hope UE has a successful career at villa but always finishes 2nd to us.
Onwards and upwards
Great post. Absolutely in agreement on all points.
Yes, N.Y. _ Gunner, this game will be a real test of character for our manager and players. I haven’t seen them play yet this season but they look like a really good team on paper and gave us a scare at the end of last season. On the plus side we will have had an extra days rest on the minus Villa will have a home crowd behind them who really believe that things are starting to happen and the sef belief of their players who know that they are capable of beating us when at their best.. One thing is certain,who ever gets the nod at No. 1 will be making a lot of saves.
Agreed with all this but don’t forget wenger also did the same, picked players not in form no matter what or just didn’t buy anyone to replace them. it’s never straightforward for a manager.
MA needs to stick by Raya.
the sooner we accept that Raya is Arteta’s number one, the better. where we need attention is at the right back role with Tomiyasu out until after the Asian cup, Timber is still out too…we don’t have cover for Ben White.
We need cover at the midfield too with Elneny and Partey going to Africa cup of nations.
We can not do anything about the goalkeeper situation in this page,but the people who go to the games at stadiums can show their displeasure and the club have to react.
The squad situation is very delicate as we do not have cover for the left back now as Tomiyasu got a serious injury and Zinchenko does not defend well.The best player of Aston Villa at the moment is Bailey who scored a goal and caused caos in M.City left side.
I believe Kiwior has defended adequately in the LB role but we definitely need a plan for some kind of at least short-term cover for White at right back.
Gee, we’ll really miss those two.
NO COMMENT
Yet here you are😜.
I thought it was a manager’s press conference for a moment, lol.
I will admit that you are right in almost all you said but i still feel Arteta is building Ramsdale to maturity using Raya’s composure ability and ball control skills. I feel Ramsdale should learn while he could because he’s still coming back to the big stage and he should be ready to prove more than what we loved about him and not focus on fans support and criticism that won’t ever end . Arteta is a believer, a teacher and a human so respect the ego.
No chance we beat Aston Villa with Raya in goal. He’s far worse than Ramsdale with up balls.
Up balls
Or
Balls ups?
Why is Arteta the only one that can’t see this?
I think the home fans should initiate the Rayaout. Sometimes I begin to wonder what the English fans are waiting before they could in solidarity restore an up coming English bright star’s carreer. How can Arteta pretend to bring an upgrade in our goal keeping position only to end up bringing a down grade. As as am concern, there’s no truth in that because, am yet to see how good Raya is. Arteta just want to give advantage to his country man to the detriment of a better home grown English player.
Knowing how important and the power of fans to influence decisions, I would want them to start Rayaout at the Villa Park if Raya starts against Aston Villa.
HG
I believe this was a tongue in cheek comment but if not then certainly a heads gone comment
“… English fans are waiting for”, “… as far as am concerned”.
I am not a member of the Arteta fan club. Those that herald him as some kind of saviour need to look through a different lens. He has had so much investment terms of money and time, I think most managers would have done as well if not better than him. The only reason he is still in a job is the famous “process” gave the impression that time was needed. Answer me this was Wenger or Graham told take what time you need? No they were told to go and make them win. Wenger and Graham did not have even close to the resources Arteta has been given, but still managed to win, how? They were good managers, anyone can get results with massive amounts of money available to them isn’t that what we all complain about with Man City after all? He is not fit for purpose, sack him and hire someone good.
I totally agree that Arteta has been supported.
Do you honestly think that the likes of Steve Bruce or that previous Stoke manager could have won the league with big money signings? I don’t. Potter didn’t pull up any trees at Chelsea. Lampard was supported and withered. The history of the premier league is littered with managers that have been supported and failed.
You also must recall that we haven’t won the league for over 2 decades so to say that Wenger wasn’t given time is a bit wide of the mark.
No matter what Arteta does Dan will complain so I don’t give a damn about your opinions about Arteta so long as he’s winning,everything he’s done has brought us to were we are so Mr Dan keep writing trash articles for engagement as it’s the only way I think you get fulfillment while we the true arsenal fans enjoy our victory
Arteta should not be exempt from criticism and he doesn’t walk on water, but let’s not get silly, he gets most things right. He clearly believes that Raya is the right man for the job although recent performances would not support that. He is at a pivotable point after the Luton game, but I expect him to stand behind Raya and play him at AV. I don’t agree with everything that Arteta does, but he is committed to what he believes is the way to go. Because we don’t all agree with the Raya situation we seem to have the need to criticize his ego, stubbornness and inexperience. No one can be successful without ego and stubbornness, and he is no longer a rookie. I am somewhat perplexed, I have very little faith in Raya, but every faith in Arteta. So I will support Arteta and watch Raya through my fingers and hope he comes good. Regardless, if Raya improves, I don’t ever see him getting to the level of Allison or Ederson, or even ironically, Martinez, which is surely the level we should be aspiring to. What I am confident of is that Ramsadale is only going to get better once he has a chance to do so, wherever that may be.
We are in a weird situation :
Ramsdale can’t use his legs.
Raya can’t use his hands.
Raya is more ball-playing kind of goalkeeper than Ramsdale and is crucial to the way we want to play.
Ramsdale completes, on average, only about 12 passes per game but Raya makes up to 30 and above, per game. This is why Arteta sticks with him.
The first mistakes of many is letting martinez go, i don’t know how someone doesn’t know the talent in his disposal because some players are not being played base on performance. Liverpool would have not played all available games in a season without trust and rotation.
Assuming all above is correct here is the question:
Why could we not develop AR since he is young to be better with distribution rather thank sinking 30 mil on a gk who is prone to not saving shots?
Laws of averages say that misplacing a pass is less harmfull than diving in the manner Raya did for the 3rd goal at Luton.
Just asking
I don’t know which is worse. Whether the mistake of demanding the manager of what to do or the arrogance of thinking it’s wise to do so.
There’s nothing to fix, we are top of the table. Ramsdale or Raya, I don’t care as long as we’re winning. Even if Mikel start Martinelli as GK against city, i don’t care as long as we’re winning.
I support arsenal, not Ramsdale or Raya individually. Arsenal need two top player for each position, the club made sure of that by signing raya. Now some fans wants one of them to leave so we are back to one GK!? Awesome 😅
Why all this rants about Ramsdale and Raya? Is it because Rams is an English? Or is anybody complaining about this when Leno was forced out in favor of Ramsdale? Or when the American Goalie ( Matt Tunner) was on bench throughout the season without a single match appearance in EPL and even sharing the cup games with Ramsdale all in favor of the almighty Ramsdale? All I know is that those who are supporting Ramsdale now are only been emotional just because he is an English Man.
Why are we so impulsive? Raya has some flaws, so does Ramsdale. I have seen Ramsdale making serious errors last season. He grew and he is growing. Similarly, Raya will properly settle in a big club like Arsenal after coming from Brentford. As far as I see, Raya situation is peculiar, just like Zinchenko. Both has a particular skillset which enhances our play. They are not a perfect for the given role. However, their pros outweigh the cons. It’s about calculation. And in this market, it is what we got the best. The team is evolving. Slow and steady. It’s not FIFA. We have no unlimited money and as far as I know I don’t see another Allisson.