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In 2021 Ramsdale took Lenos spot almost the same way Raya took Ramsdales spot. Leno only got a few games here and there but nobody said it was bad for his confidence or that Arteta had ruined things. Now Raya comes in and outperforms Ramsdale but some people are still worried about Ramsdales smile and confidence and blame Arteta 🤦
It’s because he’s easier to get attached to because he’s British and does podcasts.Its harder to feel emotionally attached to a player if you don’t see or hear much from them outside of the game
PR
Arteta didn’t help the situation with his goalkeeper substitute comments
Ramsdale’s dad talking in public about how his son lost his smile
Raya’s agent clapped back with “my player was always the number 1 target of the club”
Overall this has been a PR disaster. Now Arteta looks to be done with Ramsdale. In the post game interview when he was asked about Ramsdale he answered “the team played well” but just a couple of seconds earlier he was praising Havertz.
Well I haven’t seen Ramsdale this shaken in an away game before. He used to be one of the best parts of our away games. So the argument isn’t completely baseless. Leno had checked out ig.
I don’t think Arteta handled the whole thing great but he was always going to play the player who suits his preference so it’s what it’s. People are having a hard time because Ramsdale is a top keeper and is more loveable than a lot of our players
I had one cretin trying to post ‘receipts’ of my alleged ‘Ramsdale hate’-- which consisted of my saying, when we signed him, that I was concerned Ramsdale would only be as much of an improvement on Leno as Leno in turn had been supposed, at the time of his signing, to have been on Cech: that is, an incremental improvement, especially in ball-playing.
My theory is that the weirdness about Ramsdale not just because some fans have favourites and are excessively defensive about them, but because he looks and sounds (and is named) like an Aardman character. He’s goofily likeable in that way; add in the emotional rollercoaster of last season, and you’ve got a recipe for peculiar attachment.
(Unless, of course, one’s silly enough to believe the utterly loony conspiracy theory that Inaki is deliberately ‘sabotaging our keepers’.)
I tend to think Raya is another incremental improvement, and that Ramsdale has two rolling choices:
Put his head down, adjust to being no. 2, and work to get past the plateau on which he finds himself, or,
Seek life elsewhere.
I would agree with your theory. Ramsdale had a close bond with the north bank fans too, and it was those very fans who I vividly recall going apoplectic on Raya after his mistake from which Alvarez almost scored. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing, and I knew very well it was because they prefer Ramsdale to start. Many fans’ fondness of a player influences their view on their footballing abilities. Raya is the better keeper, he is just more assured and you can see that.
I love Ramsdale too, and I really do feel for him. It must not be nice to lose your spot, and as a goalkeeper that’s even worse, but my single biggest criticism of Wenger was him not being ruthless enough with players. Wenger continued with players far longer than they deserved and that hindered progress. I can’t now sit here and say I don’t like the action took by Arteta. It was ruthless, and he made that decision well in advance of it costing us significant moments.
Its cause his Dad isnt in the away ends taking pictures with fans, or doing silly social media stunts or is talking about how Arteta took away his smile.
All these people are hypocrites, the only difference between the Leno and Raya situation is that Leno didnt pipe up and wasnt as charismatic.
Excuse after excuse is levied onto Arteta but the mere fact of the matter is that if Ramsdale was performing well he would be starting over Raya. “Bbbbut why did Arteta make him sign a new contract if he was going to bring in Raya” maybe because thats what all well run clubs do to get a higher transfer fee.
It’s so funny to me how these fans are the same ones saying “give havertz time” are the same ones calling for Raya to get replaced when Raya has been performing better.