‘They may well do that’: BBC pundit reckons Arsenal could drop £27m player against Man City

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It’s very early in the season, but Arsenal may already be heading into a campaign-defining game against Manchester City on Thursday.

The north London club are set to face-off against the reigning Premier League champions on Sunday, and Mikel Arteta has a few big decisions to make heading into the game, none bigger than who should start in goal.

David Raya has been Arsenal’s number one as of late, but after making a mistake against Lens on Tuesday, the Spaniard’s place is being called into question.

Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Pat Nevin has been discussing the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal, and he says he wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal did drop Raya against Man City after his error in Europe.

Raya could be dropped

Nevin shared his verdict on Arsenal potentially rotating goalkeepers and the £27m man being dropped.

“It was always going to be a talking point. If Mikel Arteta wants to rotate the position on form then surely Ramsdale comes in against Manchester City?” Nevin was asked.

“Yeah, they may well do that and there’s nothing wrong with doing that. The problem is if he says he’s going to rotate it and then the goalie has a couple of bad games in a row and you don’t do it, there’s no coming back from that and you have to sell the other one. I trust Arteta to do the right thing if there’s a drop in form he will make the change. Would you rather have one good goalkeeper or two? You’d rather have two. It’s probably a bit early after one error, but I think there’s a pair of goalie gloves on the bench clasping together a bit more tightly now thinking I’ve got a chance now,” Nevin said.

Ridiculous

As much as we respect Mikel Arteta and his decisions, switching goalkeepers in a game like this would be utterly ridiculous.

It leaves everyone open to so much criticism if something goes wrong, and, in all honesty, it could backfire.

Imagine what this would do for the mindset of Aaron Ramsdale and Raya if this change is made for the biggest game of the season, it would befuddle even the most steely footballer in the world.

Arteta has said he could rotate his goalkeepers this season, and after Raya’s mistake, this may be a chance for the Arsenal boss to implement that plan.