‘If I were to be you,I will pack my things now and leave the club before Arteta will Rubbish your talent on the bench’: Former Arsenal Goalkeeper Leno warned Ramsdale of what is about to come under Arteta following Arsenal drop
The situation with the Arsenal goalkeepers has dominated the headlines in the past 48 hours after two viral clips circulated. The first was a re-emergence of a clip of Aaron Ramsdale speaking to Ian Wright in which he admitted struggling to focus for a full 90 minutes.
Thankfully, no one took these comments out of context and treated them as a matter of fact. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what they did.
However, perhaps the bigger impact has been made by Ramsdale’s father, Nick. Speaking to the Highbury Squad, he said that there was not a reason given behind his son being dropped from the first XI in the aftermath of David Raya’s arrival.
“It’s possibly the way it’s been done,” he said. “Not knowing the reason why, and this is me because we don’t know why.”
He added later in the interview: “You’ve got to give the guy a chance for God’s sake. Even though the way it’s been done, in my eyes, it’s been wrong and we can talk about that but it’s the decision.”
Emotional and strong words reveal the frustration of the apparent silence that has followed from Ramsdale’s place being lost to David Raya. Nick asked former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell multiple times whether he had been told how he could get back into the side when in the 90s Ian Wright took his place in the team.
The irony is that for Ramsdale to have gained his starting place in the first instance he had to take it from someone else. That person was now Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.
The German international was the goalkeeper that Mikel Arteta inherited from Unai Emery’s squad and he persisted with him during his first season and through his second (first full season) before signing Ramsdale in 2021. Leno started the first three league games before being dropped and never winning his place back.
In an interview he did with Sport Bild in late September 2021, he said: “There was no clear reason why I was out, but it had nothing to do with my performance. He is the trainer, he decides. Of course, it’s difficult for me.”
Adding: “London is very nice; Milan is not bad either and closer to my home Stuttgart. I’m not seriously thinking about that yet. I feel comfortable at Arsenal and in London.
“Only if nothing changes in my situation by winter would I have to think about things: what option do I have, how can I continue? I’m concentrating on my work in training; I can’t commit to anything else at the moment.”
These comments came just 18 days after he had been dropped from the Premier League squad. The German international makes it clear that Mikel Arteta had not given him a “clear reason why” he was out.
This now represents two incidents where a goalkeeper has lost their place and seemingly the Arsenal manager has not specifically communicated the reasons behind the decision. Arteta has some time before he faces the press ahead of the match with Brentford next week.
