James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Mikel Arteta’s decision to let go of his former assistant Steve Round was partly motivated by a disagreement over the signing of David Raya.
According to the claims, Round argued against the signing of Raya last summer. Not on the basis of ability, but because he felt displacing Aaron Ramsdale could disrupt the culture in Arsenal’s squad, given the England goalkeeper’s popularity.
Arsenal went on to sign Raya anyway, and Round left the club.
It’s fair to say both sides will feel there is evidence that they were in the right.
Raya’s arrival did create a lot of speculation around the goalkeeping position, with McNicholas adding that Arteta and his stuff admitted the scrutiny and debate was hampering the goalkeeper’s performances early on.
But Raya went on to win the Premier League Golden Glove as part of a very effective Arsenal defence, keeping more clean sheets than Ramsdale had the previous season and conceding fewer goals. He also helped Arsenal into a Champions League quarter-final.
Arteta would probably argue that the long-term gain was worth the short-term disruption. If Raya is a key part of this Arsenal team over the next five or so years, then that argument starts to look pretty convincing.