"If it's not broke, don't fix it" - Pundit admits he 'feels sorry' for Arsenal star who lost his place to new signing

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has adopted David Raya as his first-choice goalkeeper

Premier League legend Shay Given has shared his opinion on the goalkeeper situation at Arsenal after David Raya nearly cost them against Luton Town on Tuesday, December 5. Raya has displaced Aaron Ramsdale as the first choice at the club and was at fault for two goals as the Gunners beat Luton 4-3 at Kenilworth Road.

Arsenal moved surprisingly quickly to sign Raya from Brentford on loan with an obligation to buy in the summer, with the payment suspended to avoid FFP sanction. The Spanish goalkeeper did not take long to confine Ramsdale to the bench, taking up the starting slot at the club.

Raya was hesitant in coming out to claim a corner in the Luton match, leading to Elijah Adebayo heading home an equaliser. The 27-year-old was then at fault again as Ross Barkley beat him far too easily to give the Hatters a 3-2 lead. Kai Havertz and Declan Rice secured the win for the north London side in dramatic fashion.

Pundit Shay Given spoke about Arsenal's goalkeepers, insinuating that he found the Raya transfer to be quite unnecessary as Ramsdale was performing well. He revealed that he considers the Spaniard to be a top goalkeeper but he feels sorry for Arteta. He said (via Daily Star):

"It's really topical this season [the battle between a number one and number two goalkeeper]."

"People mention Raya and Ramsdale and I think at Brighton, [Jason] Steele and [Bart] Verbruggen have got the same thing going on as well, with De Zerbi changing the goalkeeper a bit as well. I've said this before, I felt really sorry for Ramsdale if I'm being brutally honest."

He added:

"Not taking anything away from Raya, I think he's a top keeper as well, but what's the saying, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

"I believe that last year, Ramsdale was one of the reasons they were challenging for the Premier League because he's a top goalkeeper, so it was a strange one to bring him [Raya] in, but he's [Arteta], made that decision and you know, he's got to live and die by that."

Raya has made 15 appearances across competitions for Arsenal this season, keeping seven clean sheets.

Ramsdale now officially second-fiddle at Arsenal

After Arsenal signed David Raya, there was talk of rotation between both goalkeepers as Ramsdale started the first four games of the season. All such talk was quickly put away when Raya began playing games, and it became clear where Ramsdale stood.

Since then, the former Sheffield United man has played only three times across all competitions, twice against Brentford because Raya was ineligible. The 25-year-old is said to be keen to fight for his place at the club, but would likely be fighting in vain.

Aaron Ramsdale did the same to Bernd Leno when he joined the club three years ago, so he knows all too well about it. He has been linked with a move away from Arsenal and may pursue a move because of his Euro 2024 ambitions.