Ramsdale’s ‘wind-up’ antics made Arteta sign Raya ‘to keep Aaron humble’
Aaron Ramsdale's demotion to Arsenal bench is ploy by Mikel Arteta to keep him grounded, according to former Gunners star Gael Clichy.
Despite an excellent season as the Gunners finished runners-up to Manchester City last term, the England keeper has been usurped as number one by summer signing from Brentford, David Raya. Ramsdale hasn’t played in the Premier League since the start of September, with Raya taking over for league and Champions League games.
Over the last month, Ramsdale has had to make do with a Carabao Cup appearance and a spot in the England side for the friendly away to Scotland. The former Sheffield United keeper is known for being a big character, often leading to him winding up opposing fans.
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However, Clichy, a title winner with both Arsenal and Man City, reckons Ramsdale takes things too far, to the frustration of Arteta. The Frenchman told Genting Casino: “Ramsdale plays with his head up and can wind up the opposition fans.
“Those qualities are great, it shows character, but if you go over the line then it can become an issue. I see this as a way of Arteta keeping Ramsdale humble and reminding him that Arsenal have not achieved anything yet, and now he'll ask Ramsdale to prove to him what he's made of.”
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Clichy says the decision by Arteta – a former assistant to Pep Guardiola at City – to demote Ramsdale is right out of the Guardiola playbook.
“Mikel Arteta has shown again why he's a copy of Pep Guardiola,” added Clichy, 38. “One of the main qualities of Pep, he's ruthless, he doesn't care who you are. Arteta bringing in David Raya is the same situation, he doesn't want Aaron Ramsdale to relax. Ramsdale was the only goalkeeper competing for the number one spot, now he has tough competition.”
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Clichy saw Guardiola make a similarly brutal call over another England keeper Joe Hart. “With Joe Hart, the first quality Pep Guardiola wanted was his goalkeeper to be great with his feet, which he felt Joe wasn't and Claudio Bravo was,” said Clichy.
“But, personally, I think Hart was a much better player than Bravo was. In that situation, Hart was one of the faces of the club and perhaps Guardiola realised he had to deal with him quickly for it to be less of a problem than it could have been.
“Hart had so much presence within the team, to the fans and the youth team, but Guardiola had to do what he thought was right for the club. Aaron Ramsdale doesn't have the same status as Hart did, but I can see the resemblance in the situation.”
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