- Mikel Arteta opted to hand David Raya his first Arsenal start in Everton clash
- Gunners’ boss also swapped summer signing Kai Havertz for Fabio Vieira
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Piers Morgan has accused Mikel Arteta of ‘humiliating’ Aaron Ramsdale after the Arsenal boss dropped him for David Raya for the game against Everton.
Raya made his first start for the Gunners since joining from Brentford in a £3million loan move in the trip to Goodison Park, which Arsenal won 1-0 thanks to a superb goal by Leandro Trossard.
The decision to axe Ramsdale in favour of the Spaniard was criticised by Arsenal fan Morgan.
‘I don’t understand what Ramsdale has done to deserve being dropped? Havertz, yes.. but Ramsdale’s been consistently superb for us. Why humiliate him?’
Others, however, suggested it was a smart move ahead of Arsenal’s opening Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday.
Piers Morgan claims that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has ‘humiliated’ No.1 keeper Aaron Ramsdale
Ramsdale was dropped to the bench for the trip to Everton, which Arsenal won 1-0
The two keepers will have to compete for a starting position in Arteta’s squad this season
Kai Havertz, a £65m summer signing from Chelsea, was also dropped to the bench. The German has struggled since his move to the Emirates and was replaced in the starting XI by Fabio Vieira.
Arteta also once again decided to stick with Eddie Nketiah up front, with last season’s marquee arrival Gabriel Jesus named on the bench.
The Arsenal manager’s decision to sign a new goalkeeper raised eyebrows this summer given Ramsdale’s form and Raya’s performances for Brentford.
Speaking ahead of the game, Arteta refused to confirm whether the change was indicative of his who his preferred goalkeeper would be going forward.
‘I think I mentioned that we wanted to be the squad with two quality players in this position with different characteristics and and we’ve got that now,’ he said.
‘To maximise that we have to play games and we’ve got a lot of games coming up now and it’s the same as other players where we have rotated and they will get a lot of game time in the next few games.’
Ramsdale has established himself as the Gunners’ No 1 since his arrival from Sheffield United in 2021 and is widely viewed as first-choice back-up to England’s starting goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Raya joined the Gunners’ this summer to provide competition to Ramsdale for the club’s No 1 spot, with his competitive debut marking the first time since March 2022 that Ramsdale did not start a Premier League game.
Raya impressed Arsenal fans in his composed performance against Everton at Goodison Park
Kai Havertz was replaced by Fabio Vieira in the only other change from the club’s 3-1 win over Man United
