Mikel Arteta has explained his decision to leave out Aaron Ramsdale in favor of David Raya for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Everton.
Spanish goalkeeper Raya is making his Merseyside debut as the Gunners look to end a tough winless streak at Goodison Park that is now almost six years old.
The 28-year-old joined from London rivals Brentford last month on a £3million season-long loan, which includes a £27m option to buy next summer, with Raya signing a new contract at the GTech Community Stadium before his departure. The contract was written.
So far he has been firmly in place behind regular No. 1 Ramsdale as Arsenal’s back-up option between the posts, with the England man starting all four top-flight matches this season as well as Wembley in August. There is also a Community Shield win over Manchester City.
David Raya replaces Aaron Ramsdale in Arsenal’s starting lineup to face Everton on Sunday (Getty Images)
Eyebrows were raised when Arsenal initially firmly established Raya as their top ‘keeping option’ alongside Ramsdale, but Arteta insisted at the time that he wanted two quality options in each position, In a season where they will be looking to repeat their surprising domestic title push and also compete for glory in Europe on their return to the Champions League after a six-year absence.
It was thought that Ramsdale and Raya would eventually rotate starting berths in different competitions, however the process appears to have started slightly earlier than expected at Everton.
Asked by Sky Sports whether he had changed his No. 1 before kick-off at Goodison or whether this was the “new normal” for Arsenal, Arteta said: “I think I mentioned that. We wanted to build a team with two quality players.” Each term, with different characteristics, and there we have it. And to maximize it they have to play games, and we have a lot of games coming out now.
“And we have the same with other players that we have rotated through and will get a lot of playing time over the next few games.”
Arsenal’s other notable change to face Everton is from the side that beat Manchester United in dramatic fashion before the international break in midfield, with summer signing Kai Havertz replacing Fabio Vieira.
Asked on that selection, Arteta said: “We always try to have the best possible team to start the game… We believe it was better to start that way today and we have a There’s a good balance.”
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