According to reports, Mikel Arteta has expressed his ‘frustration’ with Aaron Ramsdale during pre-season amid Arsenal’s heavy interest in David Raya.
Arsenal have been busy in the transfer market this summer after they challenged Man City for the Premier League title last season.
The London outfit have spent over £200m to acquire Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz and they are still keen to do more business.
Brentford goalkeeper Raya has emerged as a shock target in recent days. After being linked with Chelsea and Man Utd, it looked likely that he would join Bayern Munich but he is said to ‘prefer’ a move to Arsenal over the Bundesliga giants.
Since then, The Athletic’s David Ornstein has revealed that an ‘agreement’ has been reached between Arsenal and Raya over personal terms. The Gunners now have to settle on a fee with Brentford, who are demanding £40m for the goalkeeper who is out of contract in 2024.
Arsenal’s interest in Raya is a bit of a surprise given how Ramsdale has performed in recent years. But The Athletic claimed earlier this week that ‘Arteta could be seen turning away in frustration when the ball had been sliced out of play’ by the Englishman during their pre-season games.
While it is noted that the playing ‘surfaces were poor’, the arrival of Raya means Ramsdale will have ‘less margin for error’ next season.
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Instead of pursuing Raya, Chelsea have switched their attention to Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who has already ‘accepted’ a move to Stamdord Bridge.
Despite this, former Premier League striker Darren Bent “would be trying” to sign Raya if he was in charge at Chelsea.
“David Raya is better than Kepa Arrizabalaga,” Bent told talkSPORT.
“So why would Chelsea not go for him? And why would David Raya not think, ‘hold on, why am I going to Arsenal to play behind Aaron Ramsdale? Why don’t I go to Chelsea and be their number one?’
“There’s something not quite right with Arsenal’s deal for David Raya. If I was Chelsea, I would be trying to get him,”
Danny Murphy added: “The Arsenal thing, I’m really struggling with that. If you go and get him, what does it say to Aaron Ramsdale? Why do you need to pay £40m for a goalkeeper if you’re not going to start him?
“And from the flip side, if you’re David Raya, your next move has to be to a club where you’ll be number one. There’s no way he’s going to go somewhere and be happy with being the No. 2. The only way you get him in is if you say he’s starting.”
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