Ramsdale is Not Alone.
It is getting to that point where every Arsenal fan can see that Bernd Leno is no longer that goalkeeper for us. Ever since Martinez came in and we won the FA Cup and Community Shield, primarily because of his ability to pass out calmly and confidently from the back, Leno has lost his internal confidence as the starting No. 1 at this club. It is obvious that we deserve better.
The reports confirm that the hierarchy are thinking in similar ways, too. We have been heavily linked with new goalkeepers all summer. If Leno leaves, then we are left with no 1st or 2nd choice goalkeeper at the club. That means we must sign two new goalkeepers.
Aaron Ramsdale has been the most heavily-linked goalkeeper to the club. Only just 23, homegrown and having played 4 full seasons of senior football already, he is more than a capable 2nd choice. But fans are bothered by the talk of him replacing Leno. Obviously, he is talented but not so outstandingly that he comes in and replaces Leno at once. If he is going to be a second choice then, why spend so much on him?
The rumours that Arsenal are spending close to or possibly more than 30 million to acquire a second choice goalkeeper has unsettled the fanbase, especially when we haven’t done any major business in the rest of the team. It just doesn’t make any sense. Not until you realize that Arsenal are heavily linked to Andre Onana, too.
Andre Onana is a perfect upgrade on Leno. Much younger and one of the most impressive performers in the Champions League, Onana is the real deal. He is also famous for being in the Manuel Neuer mould. A swashbuckling sweeper who can rival Granit Xhaka in terms of passing into anywhere. And what more, he is available for as little as 10 million euros, maybe even less, with only a year on his contract left. Just perfect. Get him in, right?
Unfortunately, he is unable to play for anyone until the end of the year. Elsewhere, we have explored the pros and cons of signing him now for a fee versus getting him on a free release in January. The point however is that any team that gets Onana now can’t play him until the end of the year.
If this is true, then it makes signing Ramsdale now sensible and then adding Onana later. We’d be getting two young and great goalkeepers for very little, both of them homegrown.
We can have Ramsdale right now as a rotation option while getting Onana as Leno’s direct replacement later. Quite sensible to me.
Agboola Israel