Mikel Arteta throws backing behind Aaron Ramsdale amid David Raya pursuit
Mikel Arteta has refused to discuss his interest in David Raya as he threw his full backing behind Arsenal's current number one Aaron Ramsdale.
Brentford keeper Raya has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, with Arteta thought to hold some concerns over Ramsdale. But the England international provided a powerful rebuttal to those doubts with a fine display in the Community Shield.
Ramsdale pulled off a number of stunning saves to keep his side in the game, before saving Rodri's penalty to help his side win the game. And following his team's victory, Gunners boss Arteta was full of praise for the keeper, avoiding the topic of Raya's potential move altogether.
"When you play against the best team in the world you have to be at your best. In the first-half especially, we had some big chances that we didn't put away. This can be a really dangerous thing to do," he told ITV Sport.
"They scored a beautiful goal, but we never gave up. We scored the goal and with penalties you have to have that bit of luck and we had it. We made the subs and they were going to have a key part today.
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"Everyone has to contribute. We have practiced a lot in pre-season the penalties. And we have had some good discussions and learnings. It's part of the learning process. Today he won the game for us.
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Aaron Ramsdale saved from Rodri in the shootout to help Arsenal win, despite the Gunners pursuing Brentford keeper David Raya (Eddie Keogh/The FA via Getty Images)"We tried to compete in the best possible way, we won a trophy. That is always very important when you represent this club. Now, it's all about starting well in the Premier League."
In his post-match press conference, Arteta opened up on the "disappointments" that Ramsdale had endured previously this pre-season. But he insisted that the Gunners number one should not be feeling any pressure from the pursuit of Raya.
"He was great and we practised penalties a lot on purpose in pre-season to be ready for this just in case. We went through disappointments against Manchester United where we didn't stop any of that," he added.
"That was the learning curve that sometimes it's needed to get the right result and I think he was superb. I hope not [feeling pressure], because the competition here always exists whoever it is and that's what he has to feel like.
"If we don't feel like this, we are not going to get the best out of each player, so we better feel like this and make sure that we all feel like this, me first."
Brentford are looking for a fee of £40million in exchange for Raya, with Arsenal set to sell current back-up Matt Turner to help finance the move. But with Ramsdale back to his best, he is set to be between the sticks for the opening game of the season against Nottingham Forest.
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