Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reportedly has no intention of letting second-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale leave the club in the summer transfer window.
The England international has been tipped to seek pastures new ever since being brutally axed from the first XI by Arteta, who pushed for the loan signing of David Raya from Brentford over the summer.
Ramsdale began the season as Arsenal's number one, but following the September international break, Raya - whose move will be made permanent at the end of the season - was promoted to the first XI and has been Arteta's go-to goalkeeper in the Premier League ever since.
As a result, Ramsdale has been restricted to just 10 matches in all competitions in the current campaign, and his only Premier League appearance since the September international break came against Brentford, when Raya was ineligible to face his parent club.
The 25-year-old kept a clean sheet in that 1-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium, but he was fortunate not to concede from a couple of howlers and only made the first XI in one of Arsenal's six Champions League group-stage matches.
© Reuters
Arteta's approach to Arsenal's goalkeeping situation has raised plenty of eyebrows, and Ramsdale's father publicly hit out at the Spaniard for the way he went about demoting his son, whom he claimed had "lost his smile" at the Emirates.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich were both linked with January moves for Ramsdale, whose prospects of representing England at Euro 2024 will decrease if his domestic playing time does not increase, but Arsenal did not entertain winter bids for the ex-Sheffield United man.
The 25-year-old has been expected to revisit his situation in the summer should Raya retain possession of the gloves, at which point Chelsea and Bayern could reignite their interest should they still be in the market for new number ones.
However, FootballTransfers claims that Arteta still views Ramsdale as a key figure for his long-term project, and the Englishman will only be allowed to leave if another goalkeeper of similar calibre arrives.
The Arsenal boss is understood to have held showdown talks with Ramsdale and told the Englishman that he wants him to continue fighting for his spot, as he intends to continue with two high-quality options in between the sticks for 2024-25.
© Reuters
Arsenal's decision to fork out £24m on Ramsdale's signature in 2021 was met with condemnation from some sections of the Arsenal fanbase given the Englishman's relegations with Bournemouth and Sheffield United, but he quickly exceeded expectations in North London.
Ramsdale immediately relegated Bernd Leno to second choice and has now made 88 appearances in an Arsenal shirt in all tournaments, recording 32 clean sheets in the process and winning one Community Shield.
During Arsenal's title-challenging 2022-23 campaign, Ramsdale recorded 14 clean sheets in the top flight, level with Nick Pope and Alisson Becker and only behind Golden Glove winner David de Gea.
However, the Englishman lost his place in goal to Raya by virtue of the Spaniard's perceived superior footwork, although the Bees loanee has experienced his fair share of nervy moments in between the sticks so far.
Raya has made two errors leading to a goal in the current Premier League season, but Arteta has remained loyal to his compatriot, who will start in goal for Sunday's tantalising encounter with Liverpool at the Emirates.
Ben Knapton
