Arsenal are possibly facing a messy £27million summer transfer deal when they make their final decision on whether to make David Raya’s loan move from Brentford permanent. The Gunners initially signed the goalkeeper on a season-long loan in August, with the Spaniard already replacing former No 1 Aaron Ramsdale between the posts. But Arsenal’s decision over Raya next summer may have been made even more complicated as an approach for Ramsdale has reportedly been rejected. And with Chelsea said to be one of the clubs interested in signing the player, Mikel Arteta has caused himself a big headache heading into the market.
Arsenal’s capture of Raya raised plenty of eyebrows in the summer, with Ramsdale barely putting a foot wrong since his move from Sheffield United in 2021. The England goalkeeper was even named in the PFA team of the year last season as the Gunners narrowly missed out on winning their first top-flight title in two decades.
Ramsdale held onto the goalkeeping jersey for three matches following Raya’s arrival but was then dropped in favour of the 28-year-old in early September. He returned to Arsenal’s Premier League starting line-up at the weekend when his side travelled to the Gtech Stadium to take on Brentford. But that was only because Raya wasn’t able to play against his parent club.
According to football.london, a bottom-half Premier League team want to prise Ramsdale away from the Emirates Stadium. But Arsenal are adamant that they don’t want to lose the 25-year-old, who has kept 32 clean sheets in 86 appearances for the north Londoners.
Ramsdale has proven to be one of the best keepers in the Premier League over the last two seasons. And the former Bournemouth ace will surely be unwilling to play second fiddle to Raya any longer than he has to. So if Arsenal do decide to sign Raya permanently, an eventuality that is looking more and more likely by the day, the club will have to resolve Ramsdale’s future first.
If Ramsdale is forced to stay at the club, his presence could become a distraction. But if he heads for the exit, the Gunners will be losing a huge character on and off the pitch.
Arsenal reportedly paid Brentford just £3m to capture Raya for the current season but will need to stump up another £27m next summer to make the move permanent. And that fee doesn’t appear to be excessive for a keeper who excelled at Brentford and has had a solid start to life in north London.
But it’s hard to argue that Raya and Ramsdale can both stay at Arsenal beyond this season. Ramsdale is far too talented to sit on the bench for a second campaign. And he could even push for a move away from the Emirates Stadium in January if he really can’t bare the situation any longer.
