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Mikel Arteta says £120k-a-week Arsenal player has been brilliant in training pre-Brentford
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been singing Aaron Ramsdale’s praises ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Brentford.
The Gunners boss, speaking to the club’s , said the goalkeeper has been “brilliant” in training and is “desperate” to make an impact.
Ramsdale joined Arsenal in 2021 and quickly dethroned Bernd Leno to become first-choice in between the sticks, making a name for himself as a top keeper.
The £30million signing was the Gunners first-choice for two seasons, but this changed after Arsenal signed David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Arteta opted to drop Ramsdale and make Raya his first-choice keeper. The England international has had to make do with being the stand-in.
Now, with Raya ineligible to play against his parent club, Ramsdale is set to return in between the sticks for Arsenal.
Arteta, speaking to the Arsenal media team, had only good things to say about the 25-year-old stopper.
“It is what it is, he is fully prepared, he trains really well every day,” said Arteta.
“He is desperate to play like the rest of the boys who haven’t had that many opportunities and Saturday is a great day for him.
“He’s been brilliant, he’s been really good, really supportive, really pushing everything in training like I expected and it’s a joy to have two top goalkeepers in the team.”
Arsenal keeping Aaron Ramsdale in January was a good call – TBR View
We’re likely to see the Ramsdale-Raya debate reignite once again, with Raya unable to play against Brentford.
This debate last did the rounds on a significant basis during the January transfer window when the Englishman was being linked with a move away.
With Arsenal going on an amazing run of form since the January winter break and Raya barely putting a foot wrong, there hasn’t been much discussion on that front.
However, with Ramsdale set to take centre stage this weekend, fans and pundits will likely be debating his status at the club once again.
Obviously it’s a good job that Ramsdale stayed put in January. Arsenal now have a good opportunity of winning the Premier League title, and every member of the squad plays a part in that.
For instance, let’s say the keeper had left in January and the Gunners had to throw an academy keeper in at the deep end, or go with an untested January signing against Brentford.
Things wouldn’t be quite so calm at the back as they should be with Ramsdale set to go in between the sticks in this fixture.