Mikel Arteta has sparked a huge debate by claiming that he’ll decide his starting goalkeeper on a game-by-game basis, with David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale now battling for Arsenal’s No.1 spot
Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has once again questioned Mikel Arteta’s decision to rotate his goalkeepers, as he admitted he’s struggling to see “sense” in the Arsenal manager’s plan.
Arteta has caused a stir over the past fortnight by switching between new loan signing David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale, who’s spent the past two seasons as his first choice. The Gunners boss insists he’ll select his starting goalkeeper on a game-by-game basis, a strategy which Schmeichel doesn’t think will be successful.
The topic was brought up again on Saturday after Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi followed Arteta’s pattern and changed his goalkeeper for the third time this season. “We debate this Raya-Ramsdale situation a lot, and I only get that situation if Arteta thinks Raya is a better goalkeeper,” Schmeichel told Premier League Productions ahead of Brighton’s trip to Villa.
“That’s the only way I can find some kind of sense in it. I think having the competition between two goalkeepers, it will just create situations in the games where they will have to go and prove themselves, and that’s the one thing you don’t want from your goalkeepers.”