Ramsdale would be breathing a sigh of relief after his error nearly cost Arsenal three points versus Brentford. But does Ramsdale’s error show why he is leaving at the end of the season?
Until the game, Arsenal’s scoring record stood at 31 goals in 7 games, averaging a goal every 20 minutes. This game looked like a stroll in the park and Mikel Arteta’s men started brightly.
What happened?
Arsenal were already one nil up in the 19th minute and looked set to continue their recent blitzing performances.
Brentford had other ideas though. They sat in deep, soaked up the pressure and had hardworking Wissa as an outlet to relieve the pressure.
Arsenal worked the ball to Ramsdale to pull Brentford out of their shape but the Englishman couldn’t sort out his feet quickly enough to clear the ball.
Wissa profited from Ramsdale’s error to poke home an equalizer on the stroke of halftime.
The cameras immediately panned to where Raya was sat, in an unfamiliar position because he wasn’t allowed to face his parent club.
For Ramsdale, his heart must have sunk as the goal looped in. To the on lookers, it appeared like Arteta’s decision to drop the Englishman had been justified.
Ramsdale was dropped for Raya give games into the season and has only appeared three times since. Twice in cup losses to Liverpool and Westham respectively and once in the reverse fixture when Raya had to sit out against his parent club again.
Could this be Ramsdale’s last outing for Arsenal?
With a deal already in place to make Raya’s stay at Arsenal permanent, it looks like Ramsdale’s time at Arsenal has come. This might well be his last outing for the club and he didn’t cover himself in glory.
Ramsdale is a brilliant goal keeper, there is no doubt. He is capable of pulling off jaw dropping saves in games but he is also guilty of the odd error. Add that to his inferior distribution compared to Raya and you can see why he is always sat on the bench.
May be if he was playing regularly his error today could have been avoided. He can thank his teammates for sparing his blushes today (see here), but I doubt he would forget this moment.
His performance in this match is a perfect integral to why he might be leaving at the end of the season. Today might be the day that sealed his fate in what might be his last appearance for the Gunners.
