‘My son has lost his smile,’ says Aaron Ramsdale’s father, critiquing Mikel Arteta’s handling of his son’s loss of the Arsenal goalkeeping position to David Raya. After spending £24 million to join Arsenal from Sheffield United, the England goalkeeper was the team’s first choice for the first two seasons. Then, Ramsdale agreed to a new long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium in May. Things have changed up though at the Emirates now. David Raya has become the number #1 at Arsenal and it has not gone down well with Ramsdale’s father.
Aaron Ramsdale vs David Raya at Arsenal
Since Arsenal signed Brentford’s David Raya in the summer on loan, Aaron Ramsdale hasn’t started a Premier League match since September 3, which was a 3-1 victory against Manchester United. That record will most likely come to an abrupt end when Arsenal visits Raya’s original club Brentford. The Spaniard is unable to play against his original club. It is the first match following the international break.
Aaron Ramsdale’s father spoke to the Highbury Squad podcast, he said, ‘We did not have a clue (Ramsdale was going to be dropped). I didn’t have a clue, our family didn’t have a clue, Aaron didn’t have a clue that he was not going to carry on playing. Aaron is going to be the cup goalkeeper, and David Raya is going to be the main man unless something happens, an injury or a sending-off.’
He continued, ‘Aaron’s got to live with that, and he is living with that even though he’s not been told it. By anybody. You’ve got to give the guy a chance, for God’s sake. Squads evolve all the time, nobody is going to be there forever. The way it’s been done, in my eyes, it’s been wrong.’
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Ramsdale not happy, says father
He continued by saying that his son, who has only started two League Cup matches at Brentford and West Ham since losing his starting position, has struggled to maintain his positive outlook.
He said, ‘Aaron lost that smile. It really is difficult to see him there,’ he said, having been shown a picture of his son smiling in training. ‘We all keep saying: ‘You need to keep smiling’. And at the moment in time, we haven’t got that smile in him.’
In addition, Ramsdale Sr. chastised the team for sending contradictory signals. According to him, they signed Raya a few months after locking his son to a new, long-term deal. He said, ‘My only problem is when I spoke to Mr Arteta on the phone before he signed Aaron, he said he wanted Aaron. But now David Raya is back on the market and he had David Raya.’
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