In Focus: Ramsdale unlikely to roll over in Raya battle

Mikel Arteta has set up a fight between two goalkeeping heavyweights at Arsenal this season. 

Defending his crown is Aaron Ramsdale, who has been the Gunners' No1 since signing from Sheffield United in August 2021. 

Meanwhile, the challenger in the red corner of North London is David Raya, who was a Golden Glove contender at Brentford last season. 

Ahead of Arsenal's trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night, we look at who can go the distance and become the team's first-choice stopper.

Controversial decision

Arsenal's decision to let Ramsdale and Raya fight it out for supremacy is a controversial one. 

While it is commonplace in outfield positions to have two or more players of similar ability competing for the same starting spot, it is rare with goalkeepers. 

Normally there is a clear pecking order. Managers will want a quality deputy and will look to keep them happy by playing them regularly in cup competitions. 

Yet on the whole, it is considered that stability between the sticks helps a backline settle.

Time will tell whether Arteta has brought in Raya to truly compete or because he has already decided that his fellow Spaniard will be his preferred pick. 

It is a similar situation to when Ramsdale was signed, at a time when the Gunners already had Bernd Leno within their ranks. 

On that occasion, the Englishman soon ousted the German from the first XI.

Raya stats

It is fair to say that Ramsdale's form declined towards the end of last season, though his efforts also earned his side several points earlier in their title bid. 

However, that dip at a crucial time could explain why Arteta felt the need to bring in Raya. 

Statistically speaking, the new signing outranked Ramsdale in many key performance indicators while at Brentford last season. 

Raya's save ratio of 77% was the best in the entire Premier League. Of course, the Bees face more shots than Arsenal and different types of chances, so that should be factored in.

Yet when it comes to expected goals on target, the Spanish international prevented 5.9 more than he was supposed to. Only Leno at Fulham (10.7) and Liverpool's Alisson (9.5), had a better rate.

Conversely, Ramsdale's xGOT was -1, meaning that he conceded one goal more than he was expected to. 

The England international did have the better passing accuracy at 63.4% compared to 60.8%, but a lot of Raya's kicks at Brentford were long distance. 

Of those longer passes, 42% were accurate. Ramsdale’s rate was just 29.2%, which was the third-lowest of any first-choice keeper. 

Ramsdale defiant

Stats do not tell the whole story, though. 

There is a different pressure that comes with representing a club like Arsenal and when interviewed just prior to Raya's arrival, Ramsdale was in a defiant mood. 

He said: "Bring it on. Nothing comes easy in football. 

"But also at the same time you need to move along and adapt as well. I've done it to other people when I've moved to clubs. 

"I'm not going to be thinking that it's never going to happen to me. 

"So, yeah, I think if it happens, it happens and then we'll fight and we'll make each other the best version of ourselves, because that's what the manager is telling us as well."