‘I think John Lukic is one of the best goalkeepers in Britain. I think David Seaman is the best goalkeeper in Britain.’ That was a half-apology from George Graham when he shocked Arsenal fans in 1990 by signing the popular and very capable John Lukic for a British record fee (for a goalkeeper) of £1.3m in exchange for David Seaman.
Graham had tried to sign him a year earlier, shortly after the Gunners won the 1989 league title, but a deal to bring Seaman from QPR would have meant sending Rukic out on loan the other way, something Rukic was not keen on.
When Arsenal fans heard Graham wanted to replace the league-winning goalkeeper at QPR, some started chanting ‘We all agree, Rukic is better than Seaman’ during matches supporting Rukic.
Seaman was a young goalkeeper at 27, but despite playing in the First Division for Birmingham and QPR, he was not widely praised by fans of other clubs. Graham saw what the fans did not. Players were brought in, Lukic returned to Leeds (ironically, he returned as Seaman’s back-up goalkeeper six years later) and Arsenal fans frowned.
I’ve often compared Mikel Arteta’s reign to the first half of the Graham era, when a former player was stripped of his big man and big ego and brought back a ‘clean house’ with a mix of hungry young talent and unpopular players like Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães. Aaron Ramsdale also fits this mold, with his arrival in the summer of 2021 feeling out of place to many Arsenal fans.
Bernd Leno has never felt like a problem to solve, even though he has the touch of a ‘Europa League level’ goalkeeper. Ramsdale has been relegated twice as a player and his data shows his penchant for long passes, which seems to be at odds with Arteta’s desire to play out from the back.
Ramsdale’s ability and long-kick propensity were a big reason for Arsenal’s signing him. Ramsdale quickly became popular with the Arsenal fans, mainly because of his performances but also because of his friendly personality. He was one of the representative figures of the new sense of connection between fans and players.
It was clear that Arteta and Arsenal liked him too. After a few seasons with the team, he signed a new contract in May 2023. He was seen as part of Arsenal’s future. But things changed when David Raya became available that summer. Like George Graham with David Seaman, Arteta had tried to sign Raya once before.
And, like Graham and John Lukic, Arteta has never seen Ramsdale as a problem per se. But it is clear that he may now be feeling a bit frustrated with some of his limitations, particularly his short-handed distribution. Ramsdale can also lack composure under pressure, with his early errors in the 3-3 draw with Southampton in April 2023 coming to mind.
It was an isolated incident. I think his performance in the painful 2-0 defeat at Newcastle in May 2022 is perhaps more instructive. When Newcastle pressed hard, Ramsdale repeatedly gave possession away, slamming the ball wide and watching it roll right back under the pressure. When Arsenal were 1-0 up at Selhurst Park with 10 men last August, Ramsdale sent eight of his nine passes wide and found only two Arsenal players.
Arsenal clearly felt he was a viable option, despite his flaws. But when Chelsea and Spurs resisted the price Brentford had set for Raya last summer, Arteta pounced. He acted ruthlessly because Raya was, in his view, a complete entity. The signing was clearly not part of Arsenal’s summer business, and the structure of the deal says so.
Arsenal basically couldn’t afford Raya and couldn’t comply with the PSR rules, so they brought him in on an initial loan deal, Brentford extended his contract by 12 months, and the two clubs delayed a final deal for a year to comply with the rules. Ramsdale was ruthlessly left out and became a touchstone for Arsenal fans.
Previously, they were used to seeing players they didn’t want or particularly liked mercilessly leave. Ramsdale was the first of our beloved players that Arteta tried to kill. Worse than that, it wasn’t even a clean kill. Ramsdale’s Arsenal career has been in palliative care for the past year because he stayed at the club. The switch to Raya came so suddenly that the club didn’t have time to accept Ramsdale’s departure.
I wouldn’t compare Raya to Seaman just yet, but I think it’s fair to say Arsenal fans have supported or embraced the decision. The arrivals of Havertz and Raya have essentially made Arsenal a team with an 11-man midfield, and for all his qualities, Ramsdale doesn’t fit into that mold.
Arsenal were less disorganised and were skillfully helped by the arrival of Declan Rice to close the back door. Raya’s composure, his greater willingness to collect crosses and his ability to play short and long made him a better fit for Arteta’s vision. His arrival has really resonated with the fans and I think it has resonated with the players as well.
I’ve listened closely to the questions submitted to Arsecast Extra this season and many of them have given the impression of ‘who will be next?’ No one expected Ramsdale to be relegated, no one thought he particularly deserved it, but Arteta is about to kill one of his babies.
I’m sure that’s the message that’s rubbed off on the players. Even someone like Ben White, who Arteta clearly trusts and admires, will look at someone like Jurien Timber and think, ‘Is it me next?’ But of course the goalkeeping position is a little different. There’s no potential for quick rotation for 20-30 minutes here and there, as Arteta said last summer.
With Saliba returning to Arsenal, Tomiyasu’s importance to the team has diminished, but he is still important to the team in a different way than a back-up goalkeeper. Ramsdale’s sale will also be tricky. Having just signed a new contract for ‘Arsenal No. 1’ money, he is financially unaffordable for most clubs.
Also, if you are going to sign an England international, you really need a goalkeeper. You can’t recycle people like you can a defender or a midfielder. Ben White survived Saliba’s injury because he could play right-back. Havertz could switch between midfield and centre-forward, and Rice could play six and eight. You can’t do that with a goalkeeper.
So while Ramsdale’s Raya is an example of Arteta’s ruthlessness, it’s also a unique situation because of the positions the two players occupy. Jesus and Zinchenko have suffered a sort of demotion from their former status as key starting XI players, but that doesn’t mean their usefulness has expired. Outfielders can be used as ‘extra bedrooms’, but extra garages are less useful.
The Raya signing also shows Arteta’s willingness to ‘downsize’ in the market, and I think he will do so again this summer. Much of the talk in the Arsenal-based press is about Arsenal ‘levelling up’ their squad, replacing under-represented squad players with deeper players to make the squad more fluid.
It will be determined by the market, because Declan Rice’s ceiling riser probably won’t be available this summer. I think this summer will be more like January 2023, with Jorginho (second choice behind Caicedo), Trossard (second choice behind Mudrik) and Kiwior (depth addition). Arsenal have responded well to the whims of the market, and Arteta has been willing to pivot tactically on the pitch.
There is no doubt about Arteta’s ruthlessness, but Ramsdale was a victim of circumstance and market opportunity. With a new England manager on the horizon, Ramsdale may find Jordan Pickford’s superiority a weakness.
Unfortunately for Ramsdale, he shares Pickford’s weakness of giving up possession with long passes under pressure. In the short term, it would be difficult to sell him permanently, and I think a loan would be the most likely option for administrative reasons. His Arsenal career could last another year.
