Arsenal beat Brentford 1-0 to move to the top of the standings in a game decided by one magnificent moment when Saka’s cross into the area was headed in by Havertz in the 89th minute.
That game provided an opportunity for two Gunners, Aaron Ramsdale and Kai Havertz, to break into Arteta’s starting lineup. Given his fantastic cameo on Saturday night, Mikel Arteta may be tempted to start Havertz the next time Arsenal plays in the league. However, I don’t believe Aaron Ramsdale did enough to earn a starting spot against the Wolves next weekend.
Ramsdale, fresh off a difficult international break in which he had to deal with the backlash that arose from his father criticizing Arteta for not playing him more, had to play and dazzle versus Brentford because David Raya, on loan from Brentford, couldn’t face his parent club (due to Premier League rules). He had to dazzle, but he certainly didn’t in the first half.
He wasn’t calm and collected, and he made several mistakes. He appeared to be giving Arteta reasons to bench him further instead of playing him more.
Of course, he’s rusty, and after shattering his confidence (by benching him like that), it’s unrealistic to expect him to simply turn on and become impressive after such a long time on the bench. That said, if I were his personal counsel, I would tell him to keep battling, to keep giving his all in training, and to hope for a Harry Maguire-type transformation.
Watching the game, the commentator stated that the Arsenal goalkeeping position is currently David Raya’s to lose, and I can’t argue with that.
Nonetheless, Ramsdale guided Arsenal to their current position and kept a clean sheet thanks to interventions from Zinchenko and Declan Rice. We already know he’s a good keeper. He simply needs to regain his confidence. But after this game will Arteta give him another opportunity?
Darren N
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