Mikel Arteta shoots down exit talk for ‘exceptional’ Arsenal star: ‘We love him, for sure’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has seemingly ruled out an imminent exit for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after praisinbg the “exceptional” stopper for his display in the Carabao Cup win at Brentford on Wednesday evening.
Reiss Nelson scored the decisive goal in the eighth minute after a defensive error by the hosts as the Gunners booked a fourth-round clash with London rivals West Ham.
But the display of goalkeeper Ramsdale, who has been benched in favour of David Raya for the last three games, proved pivotal in ensuring Arteta’s side made progress in the competition.
The England international caught the eye when he made a crucial second-half save from Yoane Wissa, touching his effort on to the post, as Brentford put the visitors under heavy pressure in the second half.
And speaking after the game, Arteta said of Ramsdale: “For sure, he’s been exceptional around the place – and especially with the situation.
“We love him, for sure. We know his character and what he brings to the team and we are happy to have him. Every player is very important.
“Today he had the opportunity to play and he had a really good game.”
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Ramsdale tipped to walk away from Arsenal
Ramsdale has been tipped to quit Arsenal by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, having been demoted to the bench in favour of loanee Raya.
Neville feels that the 25-year-old has to playing every week in order to keep his place in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad, and that will play a major role in his thinking if Raya continues to be first choice.
The Manchester United legend said: “If it carries on like this, he’s going to have to knock on [Mikel Arteta’s] door and say ‘look, I need to play football somewhere else if it carries on like this’.
Fellow Sky pundit Jamie Carragher also feels Arteta has been “ruthless” with his call to axe Ramsdale.
He added: “When you’ve got proper top-class goalkeeper – and it remains to be seen whether Raya is that – for Arteta to bring him in, he feels he’s better than Ramsdale, so I’m totally with the manager. I think it’s really ruthless,” added Carragher.
“He (Ramsdale) might play in certain games now and again like cup games or maybe some Champions League games if they qualify early.
“He’s got to try and keep him on side a little bit for the training sessions every day to keep the morale.”
Ramsdale is currently under contract with Arsenal until 2026, although the club hold an option for an extra 12 months.
The Gunners are back in action on Saturday when they head to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
