After another mistake in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, Arsenal supporters have been debating whether manager Mikel Arteta should consider dropping David Raya.
Taking away all the controversy surrounding Antony Gordon’s goal, Raya’s failure to deal with the initial cross into the box from Joe Willock proved costly.
The Spaniard left himself in no man’s land, and unable to position himself to save Gordon’s shot when the ball came back across the six-yard box. When asked whether Raya deserves to keep his place in goal, fans on X were split:
His errors are costly
— Afolayan Emmanuel Femi (@afosguy222) November 6, 2023
Positioning is shocking, that should be basic for a goalie
— David (@innissdavid) November 6, 2023
He’s the number 1 now.
People gotta realise this.— TSvili (@T_Svili) November 6, 2023
The idea that competition for places will improve performances isn’t working
— peter barney (@peterbarney19) November 6, 2023
Regardless of the goal on Saturday he’s needs to be more commanding in his box
— Bread (@Bread2974) November 6, 2023
Have you seen ramsdale against west ham???
— محمد (@M7O57) November 6, 2023
Shouldn’t be anywhere near the first team
— Jeremy Arnold (@JeremyArnold31) November 6, 2023
Ramsdale is not getting that No1 position back. Can we just move on from this unconstructive discussion?
— NovaSpectreAFC (@NovaSpectreAFC) November 6, 2023
Raya is statistically performing better than Ramsdale
While the eye test suggests that the 28-year-old is struggling, his statistics in the Premier League this season are still superior to Aaron Ramsdale.
Raya has saved 69.2% of his shots (compared to Ramsdale’s 55.6%). When we compared their xG conceded to their actual goals let in, we get a similar picture, with Raya at +0.7 and Ramsdale at -1.8.
The Arsenal goalkeeper conundrum is one of Arteta’s making
The constant talk about who should be in goal is Mikel Arteta’s fault. The fact that he effectively has two No. 1s competing for the same spot means that the debate about who should start in goal will never go away.
That uncertainty will surely be felt by Raya and Ramsdale and that inevitably has an impact on their performances.
