Recently-retired ex-goalkeeper Ben Foster has criticised Mikel Arteta’s decision to bring David Raya to Arsenal in a video featured on his official YouTube channel.
He slammed the decision to bring another top-quality ‘keeper to the Emirates Stadium as ‘pathetic’ – he also believes that the deal did not need to happen.
Instead, Foster believes that Arteta should stick with Ramsdale as his permanent number one. He feels that by bringing in Raya, a keeper of Ramsdale’s immense calibre, Arteta risks destroying his confidence and making him feel insecure about his spot as Arsenal’s first-choice shot stopper.
As mentioned earlier, Foster recently brought his 23-year professional footballing career to an end – during his time in the beautiful game, he played for clubs such as Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
What did Foster say on his official YouTube channel regarding Arsenal?
On his official YouTube channel, Foster said: “People are saying ‘why don’t we playing Raya at home and Ramsdale away?’ I hate it, it’s pathetic. It’s something that didn’t need to happen, right. They did not need to sign David Raya. [Ramsdale has] been a top goalie for two years, right? Top goalkeeper, top goalkeeper.
“He’s on the edge of being England’s number one with Jordan Pickford, he’s right there, right? When he’s full of confidence and he’s got a manager putting his arm around him, he’s as good as anyone in this country.”
How much game time will Aaron Ramsdale and David Raya have to share this season?
Currently, it is unclear who will enjoy the lion’s share of first-team action between Raya and Ramsdale – at the moment, however, it seems that the former Sheffield United man is retaining his position as Arsenal’s first-choice ‘keeper.
Despite this, following Ramsdale’s mistake in the game against Fulham at the weekend that allowed Andreas Pereira to open the scoring in the first minute of the game, he may now be looking over his shoulder.
With a goalkeeper of equal quality waiting in the wings, Ramsdale will not be able to make these kind of errors on a regular basis – not without being dropped.
