Neville: 'Arteta is the reason why Ramsdale made mistakes'

According to former Man Utd defender Gary Neville, coach Mikel Arteta put goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale under a lot of pressure and made mistakes in the win over Brentford in round 13 of the Premier League.

Ramsdale was given the starting berth at Gtech Community Stadium because David Raya was unable to play for his parent club Brentford under the terms of his loan deal with Arsenal. This was the first time the English goalkeeper had started in the Premier League since the 3-1 win over Man Utd on September 3, and he made a number of inexplicable mistakes.

Ramsdale made a bad pass that almost led to a goal for Arsenal early in the match against Brentford in round 13 of the Premier League on November 25. Photo: Reuters

According to Neville, Arsenal's recruitment and giving Raya the starting position put Ramsdale under a lot of pressure, leading to silly mistakes. "That's what happens when you have two goalkeepers competing for the starting position. You put pressure on both of them," the former England defender wrote on social network X.

On TNT Sports , two other former England players, Peter Crouch and Rio Ferdinand, advised Ramsdale to leave Arsenal in January to play regularly, compete for a place in the England squad for Euro 2024 and secure his long-term future.

"I think Ramsdale has to go if things continue like this," Crouch said bluntly. "Ramsdale wants to go to Euro 2024, and eventually become England's number one goalkeeper. But he needs to play, and it doesn't look like that will happen at Arsenal."

Ferdinand added that the importance of Ramsdale's games could influence his decision. The former Man Utd defender commented: "If Ramsdale doesn't play enough games in the Premier League, in big games, or in the Champions League, then he doesn't play. I think Ramsdale will have a hard time staying here as the second-choice goalkeeper."

Coach Arteta hugs and encourages Ramsdale after Arsenal beat Brentford 1-0 in round 13 of the Premier League on November 25. Photo: Reuters

Similarly, former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Ramsdale has broken down with Arteta and should leave the Emirates in January 2024. "Ramsdale played fantastically last season and has started this season well," Robinson told BBC Sport . "Ramsdale is an integral part of the dressing room and has a great personality. But the relationship between Ramsdale and Arteta is beyond repair. He should go and play top football."

Meanwhile, coach Arteta praised Ramsdale for his bravery and was pleased when his players kept a clean sheet after the win over Brentford. The Spanish coach also appreciated the whole team running to congratulate Ramsdale after the final whistle. "When I see the team united like that, the members are happy, I am very happy and could not be more proud. I am very grateful to the people who work with me to make my job interesting," he expressed.

In the summer of 2021, Ramsdale was recruited by Arsenal for 33 million USD from Sheffield United and immediately took the starting position from then-number one goalkeeper Bernd Leno. In the Premier League last season, he played all 38 matches, kept 14 clean sheets, saved 95 times and only made two mistakes leading to goals.

However, coach Arteta still wants to strengthen the goalkeeper with good footwork ability and reached an agreement to loan goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford with an option to buy for a fee of 35 million USD in the summer of 2024.

Ramsdale punches the ball in a threatening situation for Brentford. Photo: Reuters

Ramsdale has retained his starting place this season, but has not played in the Premier League since the 3-1 win over Man Utd on 3 September. Since then, the England goalkeeper has only made two appearances in the League Cup - a 1-0 win over Brentford in the third round and a 3-1 loss to West Ham in the last 16, before coming on yesterday due to Raya's inability to play.

In mid-November, Ramsdale's father, Nick, said his son had lost his joy and struggled to maintain a positive attitude when he was no longer playing. Nick was also unhappy that the Emirates Stadium owner extended his son's contract in May 2023, but then immediately recruited Raya.

Hong Duy

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