£24m Arsenal’s star may never play again for the club.
Arsenal’s £24 million outcast may have played his final game for the club.
The Carabao Cup was never going to be Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s top priority this season.
The Gunners, after all, have bigger fish to fry, such as the Premier League and, of course, their first appearance in the Champions League in several years.
The north Londoners are currently unbeaten in league play, but they have been below par on the continental stage and now in the League Cup, with the exception of the thrashing of PSV.
Arsenal dominated the ball in the early exchanges in Lens, but conceded in front of a raucous home crowd, eventually losing the game. On Wednesday evening, the same thing happened at the London Stadium.
Arteta’s team had over 60% of the ball in the first half but couldn’t convert it into anything meaningful in the final third. Ben White’s own goal set the tone, and Arsenal appeared rattled from that point on. Appointment during Halloween week.
Mohammed Kudus’ delightful second, who was linked with Arsenal in the summer, put the tie out of reach before Jarrod Bowen’s deflected effort sprawled past Aaron Ramsdale, a man visibly lacking confidence in east London.
A 3-1 defeat means Arsenal are out of the quarter-finals, and Ramsdale’s career at the Emirates Stadium may be over. Since David Raya replaced him in goal, the only competition in which the England stopper has gained any playing time is the EFL Cup.
Stats for Aaron Ramsdale vs. West Ham
This was a fantastic opportunity for Ramsdale to prove himself to everyone. Arteta, like several pundits, has clearly questioned his abilities. Nonetheless, the fans have remained loyal to a player who has provided the club with some memorable moments since his arrival.
There’s a reason he was named one of the Ballon d’Or nominees for best goalkeeper in the world. Consider the sprawling save that denied Mo Salah at Anfield last season, followed by the point-blank stop that denied Ibrahima Konate from the resulting set-play. It was Ramsdale at his most brilliant and mesmerizing.
However, his ball control and ability to come and claim crosses leave something to be desired. Both flaws were on display against the Hammers in midweek.
| Aaron Ramsdale v West Ham in numbers | |
|---|---|
| Saves | 1 |
| Accurate Passes | 19/26 (73%) |
| Long Ball Success | 1/8 |
| Aerial Duels Won | 100% |
| High Claims | 0 |
| Stats via Sofascore. | |
Ramsdale may have won the game’s only registered aerial battle, but had he been stronger, the former Sheffield United no.1 might have been able to prevent White’s own goal.
That appears harsh, especially when you consider that if VAR had been used, it could have been ruled out. Tomas Soucek had a grip on the Englishman’s shirt, preventing him from reaching the near post to punch.
Aside from that, he finished the game with a dismal long pass success rate of 1/8, a nice clipped ball into Kai Havertz. There is also speculation that Ramsdale could have done better for Bowen’s strike.
A quick deflection off Jakub Kiwior didn’t help, but his attempts to save the shot were bizarre to say the least.
To be fair, any goalkeeper would have struggled to keep out all three goals on Wednesday, but on a night when Ramsdale simply needed an easy night and a confidence-boosting win, he was the club’s biggest loser from the Carabao Cup nightmare.
The statistics that demonstrate why Raya is superior to Ramsdale
Much has been written about Raya’s superiority to Ramsdale. It may be difficult to tell where the differences are with the naked eye.
After all, the Brentford loanee hasn’t been without errors or incidents since arriving in the summer.
The Spaniard’s errant pass set up Lens’ equalizer in the Champions League. It was Raya’s nervous play out from the back that nearly caused Gary Neville to pass out during Arsenal’s win over Manchester City, and it was Raya’s peculiar punch that nearly landed in his own net in Seville the week before.
| David Raya vs Aaron Ramdale – 2023/24 Premier League | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistic | David Raya | Aaron Ramsdale |
| Goals Conceded | 4 (0.7 per game) | 4 (1 per game) |
| Saves per game | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Saves made | 8 | 5 |
| Successful run-outs | 100% | 100% |
| Goals prevented (xG) | 1.30 | -1.84 |
| Pass Success | 79% | 77% |
| Accurate long balls | 44% | 33% |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 1 |
| Stats via Sofascore. | ||
However, when the numbers are crunched, it’s clear why Arteta has been so adamant about selecting the loanee over Ramsdale.
Despite a shaky start against City, Raya has been excellent with the ball at his feet, completing 79% of his passes and 93% of his passes inside Arsenal’s half. Meanwhile, his opponents have completed a concerning 60% of his passes in his two EFL Cup appearances, and 90% of his passes inside their own half.
More striking has been the Spanish goalkeeper’s ability in the air, with the Spaniard winning ten high claims and 100% of his aerial duels in the Premier League to Ramsdale’s two.
This didn’t feel like a defining moment for the club’s season, but it could be for Ramsdale.
A move towards the exit door looms for the £24m man, whose chances of playing any more minutes are almost certainly over. It’s a sad end for one of Arsenal’s most likeable and bubbly personalities in recent memory.
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