Have Arsenal signed their way into a problem?
The Gunners have brought in Brentford keeper David Raya on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent.
Raya excelled for the Bees last term, helping his side to their highest league finish since 1938.
But Aaron Ramsdale also had an excellent campaign, keeping 14 clean sheets across 38 matches as Arsenal finished runners-up in the Premier League.
There can only be one true number one — and former Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel believes Raya’s signing “could be a problem” for Mikel Arteta’s side.
“Ramsdale was fantastic for Arsenal last season; he’s brilliant with his feet and he’s brilliant with the core business of goalkeeping, he is the best English keeper,” Schmeichel told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The goalkeeper’s position is very reactive. You cannot create anything on your own; you have to wait for things to happen. You’re now asking your goalkeeper to prove he’s better than the other one, that means you now have to go out and do stuff — and you don’t want that.
“It’s the one position that you want to be steady. The worst thing is when a goalkeeper tries to do something and it goes wrong. Every time, it’s a goal. I don’t understand why Arteta would create this potential problem.”
Ramsdale and Raya boast similar stats, having each played 38 league games last term. The 25-year-old England goalkeeper kept 14 clean sheets last season, the second-highest total in the league behind Manchester United’s David de Gea and two more than Raya, 27.
He also conceded 43 goals, two fewer than his new team-mate and boasts a passing accuracy of 63.38 per cent, slightly higher than Raya’s 60.75 per cent. But the Spaniard produced more saves last season — 154, the most in the Premier League. Ramsdale was 10th on the list, with 95.
Raya also had the league’s highest save percentage at 77 per cent. For comparison, Ramsdale managed 68.61 per cent. According to Opta’s expected goals on target model, Raya prevented almost six more goals than the average goalkeeper would have been expected to concede.
“It looks like they are signing a problem,” former Manchester City and Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC MOTD2.
“Ramsdale was one of their best players. Raya isn’t signing for any club to be number two. I don’t understand why Arteta wants to bring him in.
“I wouldn’t be happy if I was Ramsdale. Psychologically, as a keeper, you want to be backed by your manager even if you make a mistake. I don’t think it is a good thing.”
Former Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy was equally perplexed.
“One of them is always going to be unhappy,” he said on BBC MOTD2. “I don’t think Raya is going there to be anything but number one. It’s not fair on Ramsdale but you have to trust your manager.”
