Jamie Carragher has backed Mikel Arteta’s decision to sign David Raya and claims Arsenal will never win the Premier League with Aaron Ramsdale in goal.
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Raya joined Arsenal on loan from Brent in the summer, while the Gunners have the option to make the deal permanent for £27 million at the end of the season.
Ramsdale started Arsenal first four Premier League games but Raya was brought in for his debut in the 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday and the Spaniard kept his place in the team for their Champions League opener against PSV on Wednesday evening.
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has criticised Arteta’s decision to sign Raya and claims the Arsenal manager is creating a problem by having two first-choice options in his squad.
When asked about Arteta’s decision to sign Raya, Schmeichel told CBS Sports: ‘I don’t get it, I don’t understand why you want to create a competition situation for goalkeepers,
‘The one thing you want from your goalkeeper is stability. So goalkeepers are playing a position which is very reactive, there’s no proactive action happening, everything you have to do is something you have to do when somebody else is doing something, you have to react to that, you can’t be proactive and go out and create a save for yourself.
‘What you want your goalkeeper to be is stable. Do the job he’s there to do, stop the ball from going in the net. If you’re in a competition situation at some point you’re going to think, ‘I have to prove I’m a better goalkeeper than the other one, I’m going to try this or that’, and if you’re going to try things as a goalkeeper very often it goes wrong.
‘I don’t get this, I think it’s crazy and I think Arteta might just be creating a problem he didn’t need going forward.’
Carragher, however, hit back at Schmeichel’s criticism and believes Arteta has simply upgraded his Arsenal side by signing Raya.
‘I understand having two goalkeepers of a similar ability, I understand mentally it might be a problem for the goalkeeper,’ Carragher said.
‘But surely if Mikel Arteta thinks he can get a better goalkeeper in the building, he has to make that signing to make Arsenal a better team.’
Asked by Schmeichel if he thinks Raya is a better goalkeeper than Ramsdale, Carragher replied: ‘100 per cent.
‘Arsenal will never win the league with Ramsdale in goal, no chance.
‘Ramsdale is playing for Arsenal and he can’t even get in the England team.’
Schmeichel then replied: ‘See that’s a completely different debate and I don’t understand that.
‘But I think he’s done tremedously well. I didn’t see this happening when he signed from Sheffield United, I honestly didn’t understand why Arsenal are spending that much money on Ramsdale because I didn’t see it.
‘But what he’s done is won me over. He’s a very, very consistent, stable goalkeeper who makes very, very few mistakes. The actual goalkeeping he’s done that fantastic.
‘But what has surprised me is how he plays with his feet, and his distribution, taking part in play, I just don’t get why Arteta wants to create this problem.
‘They shouldn’t have signed anybody. I think there is an art to being a No.2 goalkeeper at a football club and that’s a special person to support the No.1, who makes the No.1 comfortable in his position.
‘You don’t want your goalkeepers to make mistakes. You [Carragher] out of anybody should know that when you play in front of a goalkeeper, the worse thing as a defender is when the goalkeeper is trying to do something he’s not capable of and he costs a goal.’
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