‘I played 450 Premier League games in goal – I feel sorry for Aaron Ramsdale’
Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given has admitted he feels sorry for Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale.
Despite Ramsdale having inked a new long-term deal earlier this year, the arrival of David Raya from Brentford on-loan with an obligation to buy has seen the England international spend the majority of the 2023/24 campaign on the bench. The 25-year-old started Arsenal's first four Premier League games, before being benched for Raya.
Since then, he has played just three times, facing Brentford twice due to Raya being ineligible to play his parent club, and West Ham in the EFL Cup – a clash which saw Mikel Arteta's side dumped out of it 3-1 by the Hammers.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta ignores David Raya questions in awkward interview after goalkeeper's howlers
READ MORE: David Raya suffers two howlers at Luton as Arsenal keeper slammed as 'rubbish liability'
One individual who knows exactly what it takes be a top flight shot stopper is Given, who made 450 Premier League appearances across spells with Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Stoke City.
And Given, who now works as a pundit for various media outlets, including Sky Sports, TNT Sports, and Amazon Prime amongst others, is no stranger to the dynamics behind the scenes between a first and second choice keeper. During his time at Newcastle, Given and Steve Harper served as the Magpies' two goalkeepers for over a decade, with the Republic of Ireland international first choice at St. James' Park.
Who should Mikel Arteta be starting in net? Aaron Ramsdale? Or David Raya? Let us know in the comments section below.
Join the Daily Star's WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more
The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!
Through the app, we'll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens…along with the latest breaking news of course.
To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in!
No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN
On Tuesday night, Arsenal nearly suffered a shock result against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, with Raya making two costly mistakes that led to goals. Thankfully, the Spaniard's blushes were spared by Kai Havertz, and a late injury-time winner from Declan Rice, with Arsenal winning the game 4-3 to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
And, speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, Given has explained that while he believes Raya to be "a top keeper," he believes Ramsdale has been hard done by. "It's really topical this season [the battle between a number one and number two goalkeeper]," Given told Daily Star Sport.
Prime Video is available as part of the Amazon Prime membership, which costs £8.99 per month or £95 annually for an individual.
The membership gives access to all the perks of Amazon Prime (including free Premium and Same- Day Delivery in selected residential postcodes, and other benefits) plus the full library of content available through Prime Video.
Prime also offers a discounted membership, Prime Student for higher education students.
You can also sign-up for Prime Video on its own for £5.99 per month, however, you won’t get the other benefits that come with Prime — like free One-Day Delivery and Same-Day Delivery on eligible orders and fast grocery delivery and pickup.
£5.99 per month for Prime Video only, or £8.99 per month for Amazon Prime membership
"People mention Raya and Ramsdale and I think at Brighton, [Jason] Steele and [Bart] Verbruggen have got the same thing going on as well, with De Zerbi changing the goalkeeper a bit as well. I've said this before, I felt really sorry for Ramsdale if I'm being brutally honest.
"Not taking anything away from Raya, I think he's a top keeper as well, but what's the saying, if it's not broke, don't fix it. I believe that last year, Ramsdale was one of the reasons they were challenging for the Premier League because he's a top goalkeeper, so it was a strange one to bring him [Raya] in, but he's [Arteta], made that decision and you know, he's got to live and die by that."
Shay Given will be working as a pundit for Prime Video’s coverage of Everton vs Newcastle on 7th December. Prime Video is broadcasting 20 Premier League fixtures this season, including a full round of fixtures in December, featuring matches such as Luton vs Arsenal, Manchester United vs Chelsea and Aston Villa vs Manchester City – plus every Boxing Day match.
Source: Read Full Article