Arteta's side are clicking on the pitch, but the furore around their No.1 threatens to derail a great start to the season
Declan Rice earned Arsenal three points at Kenilworth Road in the most dramatic fashion imaginable on Tuesday evening. Deep into second-half stoppage time, Oleksandr Zinchenko created some space on the edge of a congested penalty area with an ingenius cutback and offloaded to Martin Odegaard, who then played an inch-perfect cross for Rice to head home.
The goal salvaged a 4-3 victory on what was, in many ways, a pretty positive night for the Gunners. Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus both scored after criticism about their lack of goal output, Kai Havertz put in perhaps his best display yet since his £65 million ($82m) move from Chelsea and Ben White softened the blow of Takehiro Tomiyasu's recent injury by providing a fabulous assist.
However, all of these storylines paled into insignificance at full time. Once again, the focus was squarely on Arsenal's confused goalkeeping situation, with David Raya committing two heinous errors which gifted the newly-promoted Hatters a 3-2 lead in the second half.
As he has done all season, Arteta did his best to mask the problem with a blunt response to the media. When quizzed on the Spaniard's shaky form after the game, he replied: "I was so happy for the team. I have spoken to all of them, they are so happy they are jumping around."
Getty'Try to make it difficult'
But despite Arteta's best attempts, it was impossible to ignore the significance of his chosen No.1's hapless performance. His first error gifted Luton their second equaliser of the game, with Raya flapping at a corner and allowing Elijah Adebayo to nod home.
Things soon got worse too. Ross Barkley may have rolled back the years by powerfully driving through midfield, but his left-footed effort should never have squirmed under Raya's body and into the back of the net. The Spaniard will have been immeasurably thankful that his blushes were spared by Havertz and Rice at the death.
Still, it was a seriously concerning display, with Luton boss Rob Edwards hinting that his physical side had targeted Raya with a barrage of crosses during the game.
"We tried to, we wanted to make it as uncomfortable as possible," . "We were probably going to have to be slightly different away from home when we play them again, but here we’ve got to use this place as a bit of a leveller and try to make it difficult for these top teams and not give them the game they want."
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe seeds of discontent
Raya's latest mistakes were not the first he's made this season, with the 28 year old enduring a mixed start to life in north London. It wasn't what Arsenal would have envisaged when they finally snapped up the long-term target in the summer on an initial loan deal from Brentford.
The reasons for signing Raya were pretty obvious once you did a bit of digging. Not only did he register the best save percentage in the Premier League during the 2022-23 season, he also seemed capable of offering his team more in possession.
There was just one problem: Aaron Ramsdale. Initially, his signing was heavily criticised. At the time of his arrival he'd experienced back-to-back Premier League relegations at Bournemouth and Sheffield United, which made the £30m ($38m) fee they paid for him look inflated. But after two impressive seasons between the sticks, he'd firmly established himself as a fan favourite heading into the 2023-24 campaign.
Unsurprisingly then, supporters and pundits alike seemed a little baffled as to why Arteta had prioritised replacing him in the summer transfer window.
Former Premier League stopper Ben Foster said at the time: "I hate it, it’s pathetic. It’s something that didn’t need to happen, right. They did not need to sign David Raya. He’s [Ramsdale] been a top goalie for two years. He’s on the edge of being England’s No.1 with Jordan Pickford, he’s right there. When he’s full of confidence and he’s got a manager putting his arm around him, he’s as good as anyone in this country."
Gary Neville agreed, saying: "I’ve said this before, I’m not a fan of competition for goalkeepers. I think you need a clear No.1 and then a clear No.2. That’s my view."
GettyArteta confuses the situation
After Raya's arrival was confirmed, Arteta was incessantly quizzed on who would be his No.1 for the season. He initially remained tight-lipped, saying back in August: "We want two players per position. You saw what happened to Jurrien [Timber], it can happen to our goalkeeper, it happened to [Thibaut] Courtois – you have to be prepared."
Eventually, though, the mask slipped, with Ramsdale – who had started the Gunners' first four Premier League games – being replaced between the sticks by Raya against Everton. After this bold call, Arteta attempted to outline a utopian vision where the two goalkeepers would rotate intermittently – sometimes even during a game.
"I am a really young manager and I have only been in the job for three and a half years and I have few regrets about what we have done," he began. "One of them is that on two occasions I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes in two games in this period, to change the keeper in that moment and I didn’t do it. I didn’t have the courage to do it."
But the idyllic coexistence outlined by Arteta has not come to pass. The Spaniard has never followed through on his vow of changing goalkeepers during a game as well as showing clear favouritism towards Raya.
In Arsenal's infamous Champions League defeat to Lens back in October, Raya was culpable for the French minnows' first goal. He also endured an error-riddled display against Chelsea soon after and messed up for Newcastle's controversial winner in November. Generally, Raya's shot-stopping metrics are significantly down from his Brentford days too.
Yet, throughout these struggles, there's never been any hint of Ramdale being chosen in his place. Far from introducing a revolutionary approach to the goalkeeping position, Arteta has simply brought in a new No.1, while creating a damaging amount of uncertainty in the process.
(C)Getty ImagesRamsdale dad's chimes in
Ramsdale – or at least his family – have played a role in dialling up this pressure cooker environment. Last month, his dad Nick gave a poorly-judged interview with Arsenal fan podcast where he questioned Arteta's handling of the situation.
"Aaron’s lost that smile to when he was holding onto that ball at this moment in time. And it is difficult. It really is difficult to see him there and we all keep saying you need to keep smiling," he said.
"When I spoke to Mr Arteta on the phone before he signed Aaron, he said he wanted Aaron. But now, you know, David Raya’s back on the market and he’s had David Raya. 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.
"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. Even though the way it’s been done, in my eyes, it's been wrong and we can talk about that but it’s the decision. Really and truly we’ve got to get behind David Raya. He’s part of the family now. Whether it's only until May-June of next year. It won’t be, it’ll be longer in my eyes, but that’s by the by.'"