Arsenal ‘risked the title race’ with David Raya call despite conceding fewer goals

Arsenal have conceded eight goals in nine games so it’s definitely David Raya’s fault if they don’t win the title…

Songs in the Keys of strife
The Daily Mirror have an army of reporters with contacts and a battalion of columnists so it irks us somewhat that the biggest story in football on Monday morning – according to their football homepage – is something tweeted by Richard Keys. On Saturday.

Now here at F365 we are not too proud to do the story but a) we don’t have an army of reporters with contacts and b) we absolutely don’t think it’s the biggest news in football. It’s barely the 15th biggest news in football.

It surely must irk John Cross, one of the better-connected reporters in football who has produced thousands of words after Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, to see far greater prominence given to a two-day-old tweet by a presenter in the Middle East who was chased out of British broadcasting. How can anything tweeted by Keys be the biggest news in football?

“NO WAY HE’S AN UPGRADE”: Keys questions why Arteta has opted for Raya over Ramsdale and warns he will ‘cost Arsenal the title’ as Neville predicts further problems ahead

The idea that any one player will ‘cost Arsenal the title’ is laughable – it’s really not theirs to lose – but we particularly like this paragraph…

Raya has now conceded six goals in the seven games he has played since replacing Aaron Ramsdale as Arsenal’s first-choice keeper. And veteran presenter Richards Keys has already seen enough to call for the Spaniard to be dropped.

And Ramsdale conceded four goals in four games before that. Which is one of the many reasons why we should all collectively not give two f***s what any ‘veteran presenter’ says. And absolutely not pretend that there is no bigger story in football.

Quicker than a Raya light
At least the Evening Standard have backed their own man to make that point, with Simon Collings writing a piece headlined thus:

Arsenal: Mikel Arteta goalkeeper gamble has split the fanbase and risked the title race

They’re literally unbeaten and level on points with Manchester City. Oh and they have conceded fewer goals (8) than the same stage last year (10).

Some might suggest that the real risk to the title race came when Arsenal once again failed to buy an actual striker; they are scoring fewer goals than any team in the top seven. That feels important but it’s clearly not today’s narrative.

One out of three ain’t bad
Sam Dean writes a reasonable piece on the subject in the Daily Telegraph, which ends with this paragraph:

In the medium to long-term, there are three obvious ways in which this situation can be defused. One is Raya being brilliant in goal, and fully establishing himself as the superior option in the eyes of the wider world. The second is Ramsdale regaining his place and relegating Raya to the role of reserve. The third is one of them, almost certainly Ramsdale, leaving the club. For now, the debate continues.

So we do have some sympathy with him because he was royally stitched up by this headline:

Arsenal’s goalkeeper problem is hindering David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale – one will need to go

(Unless one of the other two options comes to pass).

Quality assurance
Over at football.london, they would like a hefty slice of this delicious click piece please so…

Aaron Ramsdale has assurances over replacing David Raya amid clamour for Arsenal recall

Has he received any ‘assurances’? Has he balls. But will he play in the Carabao Cup and then against Brentford when the on-loan Raya is cup-tied? Yes, yes he will.

Goalkeepers are obviously all the rage as MailOnline go big with this one:

Wish you were still here? Man United captain Bruno Fernandes meets up with booted-out goalkeeper David de Gea in Manchester amid £47m Andre Onana’s struggles, as fans urge the Spaniard to ‘come back in January’

That will be the ‘booted-out goalkeeper’ who chose not to sign a new contract, will it?

Are we still ‘amid £47m Andre Onana’s struggles’? It feels like we are amid Man Utd striker struggles, but obviously the world is not ready for that discussion.

But still, one fan has urged the Spaniard to ‘come back in January’ so it’s definitely worth a story.

And here’s how this story begins:

Manchester United’s past and present captains shared a selfie to social media on Sunday as David de Gea and Bruno Fernandes reunited after the Red Devils’ 2-1 win over Sheffield United.

Pesky fact: David De Gea has never been Manchester United club captain and last wore the armband in October 2019.

Apart from that, it’s brilliant journalism.

READ: Premier League keepers ranked: David Raya still ahead of Sanchez, Onana, Ederson