Darren Bent insists that Mikel Arteta has to start £30m Arsenal player tomorrow

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Pundit Darren Bent has insisted that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has to start Aaron Ramsdale against Crystal Palace tomorrow.

Bent was speaking on TalkSPORT about the £30m goalkeeper and his dilemma this season.

Arsenal began the season with three brilliant new signings in the starting line-up.

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz did very well in midfield with Jurrien Timber lining up in defence.

Unfortunately, the young Dutchman picked up a serious knee injury that will likely rule him out for much of the season.

Ahead of their match against Crystal Palace, Arsenal also added Brentford goalkeeper David Raya to the squad.

The 27-year-old could put some serious pressure on Aaron Ramsdale for his spot in between the sticks this season.

Bent has said that Mikel Arteta has to stick with Ramsdale going forward as he’s yet to put a foot wrong this season.

In fact, his performances notably improved during pre-season when rumours started to swirl about Raya’s arrival.

He then put in a fantastic performance against Manchester City in their Community Shield win.

Bent tells Arteta he has to start Ramsdale

Asked whether Arteta should be making the switch in goal already, Bent said: “No, I think, for now, Ramsdale has not done enough wrong for him to be dropped. Absolutely not!”

Aaron Ramsdale will know the pressure is on for his place in the side.

Arsenal now arguably have the strongest pair of goalkeepers in the Premier League which has its upsides and downsides.

Raya will put plenty of pressure on Ramsdale and that should lift his performances.

However, it’s also putting additional pressure on a position in the team that is already under intense scrutiny.

As Bent has suggested, Arteta is expected to stick with Ramsdale in goal tomorrow.

The England international has been backed to improve this season by David Seaman who would have seen him working on the training ground at Arsenal.

Whether he’s given the opportunity is another matter and it will be interesting to see how the pair’s game time is shared.