David Raya has told goalkeeping rival Aaron Ramsdale that he will need to “fight for the team” if and when he gets selected by Mikel Arteta again.
A unique situation is developing at Arsenal. The Gunners, to the surprise of many, made a late move for wantaway Brentford goalkeeper David Raya in the summer after the Spaniard had rejected the chance to join Bayern.
The north London club took Raya on an initial one-year loan deal with a fee of €3.34 million going into the Bees’ pockets and the 28-year-old recently supplanted Aaron Ramsdale as the starting goalkeeper.
Head coach Mikel Arteta has made it clear that he wants to have at least two starting calibre players in every position, but many were still surprised when Raya got the nod instead of the ever-so-solid Ramsdale against Everton and then again versus PSV on the Gunners’ long-awaited Champions League return.
Raya cut a composed figure in both games and he has now sent a clear message to his goalkeeping rival, though he also admitted that there is no guarantee that he will keep his starting spot.
What did David Raya say?
Speaking to the media after the Gunners’ comfortable 4-0 win over PSV, Raya insisted that it was up to Arteta to pick a starting goalkeeper. “That’s his choice, it’s not my choice,” the Spaniard said.
“If Aaron comes back in,” Raya continued, “he needs to fight for the team and to win games. I think it’s the first time that two top goalies are on the same team. That’s just part of football now.”
“The gaffer wants two top players for each position and that’s what we have to work with. I played the last two games and I don’t know what’s going to happen on Sunday.”
It will be interesting to see how this story develops. Is there a potential feud on the cards here? Is constant uncertainty about who will start the next game desirable when it comes to a position as important as the goalkeeper? Only time will tell.