Thierry Henry hits nail on the head with Arsenal’s big goalkeeper dilemma
Arsenal are Man City's closest title challengers | Football Digest
Thierry Henry has weighed in on the debate surrounding who should be Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper and backed Gunners’ coach Mikel Arteta in the process. The Spanish manager, who almost delivered Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 19 years last season, captured compatriot David Raya on a season-long loan from Brentford in the Summer with a £27million purchase option included.
The Barcelona-born goalkeeper was expected to provide back-up to regular No. 1 Aaron Ramsdale, who played in Arsenal’s first four matches of the Premier League season.
But after Raya was surprisingly called up in place of Ramsdale for the trip to Everton last weekend, the 28-year-old retained his place in the side for the Gunners’ Champions League Group Stage match against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday – a match that Arteta’s side won 4-0.
Former Arsenal legend Henry was forced to listen patiently whilst fellow CBS Sports pundit Jamie Carragher and ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel duelled in a heated debate over the decision to replace Ramsdale.
After a frustrated Henry argued “this is my team” he was finally allowed to have his say by presenter Kate Abdo and he took the opportunity to back the North London outfit’s manager.
Henry said: “It’s not a matter of who is right or wrong. Mikel Arteta is the coach. He sees David Raya as a guy that can make him win the league. When Bernd Leno left Arsenal, he saw Ramsdale as a guy that can make him go into the top four.
“I think that if he goes and gets David Raya… he went to get him. He thinks he is a better goalkeeper. There’s no rotation there. He thinks that David Raya is better and that’s about it.
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“People will have to stop with that goalkeeper thing. When you play at a big club competition will happen. When you play as a striker and they go and get one of the best strikers in the world to compete with you, does a striker cry because I don’t feel comfortable because there is another guy that can take my position at halftime? Or after an hour? I can tell you as a striker it’s not easy going on the field knowing that if you miss, in an hour someone will come.”
Pitchside reporter Schmeichel, who was widely regarded as one the best goalkeepers in the world during his playing days, had called the decision to take out Ramsdale ‘crazy’, arguing that rotation of goalkeepers just creates uncertainty.
But Henry did not see the switch that way at all. He added: “It’s not about rotation. He went to get a goalkeeper for him that I think he thinks is going to win him the league. There’s not a rotation there. And Bernd Leno went for the same thing.
“When you play for a big club, competition will happen. Period.”
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