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News
Mikel Arteta starting £30m Arsenal man vs Sheffield United seen as real surprise
💝Sky Sports pundit Izzy Christiansen admitted she was surprised to see goalkeeper David Raya start for Arsenal against Sheffield United yesterday.
Christiansen was speaking in the build-up to the game on as Mikel Arteta’s🐷 team prepared to dominate the league’s bottom side.
🐻Arteta used the match as an opportunity to give some of his fringe players some much-needed minutes.
Emile Smith Rowe🦹 was handed a rare league start while Kai Havertz was given another go in midfield.
It was Eddie Nketiah𝄹 who was the star of the show, scoring his first league hat-trick for Arsenal and taking full advantage of Gabriel Jesus’s most recent injury.
꧃One position where Arteta decided rotation wasn’t necessary was between the sticks.
David Raya🐷 continued in the Arsenal goal against Sheffield United although, in reality, any member of the squad could have played there.
🐽It meant Aaron Ramsdale was left on the bench once again and although he’s likely to start in midweek against West Ham in the Carabao Cup, Arteta’s promise to rotate the two players looks less and less likely to happen.
♔The shot-stopper is only on loan from Brentford although the deal will almost certainly be made permanent in the summer.
𝓰Whether Ramsdale will still be at the club by then is a different matter as he can’t afford to be second choice at this stage of his career.
Raya a surprise inclusion for Arsenal against Sheffield United
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚChristiansen was asked if she was a bit surprised to see Raya starting : “I was actually [surprised].
♔“Given the amount of outfield changes that we’ve seen since the team news came in.
𒐪“We’re asking that question again, why not [Aaron] Ramsdale?
✤“After a shaky performance against Chelsea last weekend for David Raya, midweek against Sevilla he was a little bit hesitant.
✤“So, I kind of expected that if there was going to be a change for it to be today, which kind of further cements the situation that we see in that David Raya seems to have cemented that spot as number one.”
Raya looked nervousဣ during Arsenal’s win against Sevilla but didn’t have enough to do against Sheffield United to cause him any trouble.
Arteta might have a problem on his handsꦅ soon when it comes to the goalkeeping situation, but for now, if Raya is keeping clean sheets then it’s hard to see him dropping out of the side.
🍷Starting Ramsdale against his old side might not have been a bad shout, but he would have been a passenger anyway.
🍌He will be desperate to put in a good performance in midweek and give Arteta a difficult decision to make when Arsenal face Newcastle next Saturday.