Inside Arsenal’s move for David Raya with Aaron Ramsdale’s future under threat

Ruthless Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a perfectionist. Instead of basking in the achievement of getting the club back into the Champions League on the back of their unexpected title chase, he has spent the summer picking through how his side allowed an 11-point lead dissipate when Manchester City started to turn the screw.

Unfortunately for Ramsdale, two glaring errors in Arsenal’s two most calamitous results have turned Arteta’s head back to the transfer market as he looks towards the second phase of the Gunners’ development.

Ironically, Ramsdale’s ability to play with the ball at his feet was one of the main reasons Arteta spent £23m on the England international in 2021 when he already had the accomplished Bernd Leno at the club. But now he is questions that trust.

Arteta’s conclusion from the collapse at the end of last season is that he needs players at the very top of their game to take Arsenal to the next level and he is wondering if Ramsdale is quite there yet.

His disastrous pass to Carlos Alcaraz just 28 seconds into what turned out to be a last-gasp draw against Southampton in April was followed by a weak parry resulting to another goal against Brighton a month later.

Together, they contributed to Arsenal missing out on the five points which ultimately proved to be Manchester City’s winning margin. It seems a harsh calculation but Arteta is fixed on building a winning team that plays from the very back – making his goalkeeper the cornerstone of everything the team does.

While Ramsdale falters – pushing a weak Bruno Fernandes show into his own net just this month against Manchester United in New Jersey – Raya’s credentials are compelling. He is a compatriot of Arteta who is so comfortable on the ball he was given the ultimate reference by Jurgen Klopp after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Brentford in September 2021.

“The goalkeeper could have had the shirt with the no. 10,” Klopp said. “He played a few incredible balls but it was the right thing to do against us.”

He had made a record 300 passes in helping Brentford to their unlikely promotion from the Championship the previous season and subsequently graduated to the Spain World Cup squad to show his aptitude for games at the very highest level.

With Arsenal showing every intention of backing their manager a player whose own manager has put the price tag on his head looks like a potential bargain.

As Brentford boss Thomas Frank put it: “I would love to get £40m. He was one of the four best keepers in the Premier League last season.

“Declan Rice had one year left and was sold for £105m. Harry Kane is being spoken of as £100m+. So for a keeper, at his best age…”

Arsenal paid full price for Rice and possibly over the odds for Kai Havertz so Brentford will have no desire to look like the whipping boys of the summer transfer window.

It may cost most of that to drag Raya across London. But with the goalkeeper himself keener on that than a potential move to Bayern Munich, the deal is there to be struck. Then it is down to Ramsdale to show what he is truly made of.

With Gareth Southgate making it clear that the days are numbered where he accommodates England players who are not featuring regularly for their clubs, it is not just his Arsenal place but his dreams of going to Euro 2024 that are very much in jeopardy.