Why is Aaron Ramsdale not part of Arsenal squad to face Chelsea? Club provide official confirmation

Arsenal are set to face Chelsea in a crunch London derby on Saturday (October 21) with a glaring absentee, Aaron Ramsdale, on their teamsheet for the encounter. The English goalkeeper was left out of the squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge after failing to make an appearance in nearly a month.

The goalkeeping issue at Arsenal with Ramsdale and David Raya has been a major talking point since the start of the season. The former Bournemouth man last featured for the Gunners in the Carabao Cup against Brentford on September 27.

Aaron Ramsdale was left out of the squad for the Chelsea match due to the birth of his son, with Arsenal granting him a personal leave for this reason. His partner, Georgina, gave birth to the couple's first child, a male, as the club announced on X (formerly Twitter).

"Aaron Ramsdale misses out on today’s squad after his wife Georgina gave birth to a baby boy. Congratulations both ❤️"

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta replaced him in the squad for the match, naming Karl Hein on the bench while Raya continues between the sticks. Raya has quickly won over the manager's trust and is the club's first-choice between the sticks, having arrived from Brentford on loan this summer.

---

Ramsdale unhappy with situation at Arsenal

Aaron Ramsdale joined Arsenal from Sheffield United in 2021 and quickly displaced German goalkeeper Bernd Leno from the team. The Englishman had been the Gunners' first-choice goalkeeper from the 2021-22 season until this one, before losing his spot.

David Raya seemed destined to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer until a difference in transfer fee negotiations saw the deal fall through. The Gunners swooped in for the Spaniard late in the window, signing him on loan with an option to buy next summer.

The Englishman started all of his side's first four league games, keeping just one clean sheet and conceding four goals in those games. He then lost his place in the squad to Raya and has not played in the league since then.

During this month's international break last week, he revealed that the situation with Raya at the club is a weird one. The Englishman said that he has a good relationship with the Spaniard, who has taken his place (via the Premier League's website).

"If we didn't get on it wouldn't work. We work professionally really well together."

"Whether it is me or David who plays we need to be able to just focus and play but at the same time, it's a strange, big headline... we have to deal with it and that is what we are doing."

He revealed in the Sky Sports interview that he feels concerned about the situation in which he's not playing at the club. The goalkeeper cited the reason being his place in the England national team ahead of the 2024 Euros.