11 August 2023 , 01:00
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Arsenal's decision to pursue David Raya has left Peter Schmeichel stunned, but the club have previously handled having two goalkeepers who want to be No 1.
The Gunners are close to landing the goalkeeper's signature with a loan deal struck with Brentford ahead of a potential purchase next summer. Raya has been looking to leave the Bees after several years as their No 1 but the west Londoners wanted a decent fee.
Mikel Arteta could soon have competition for current No 1 Aaron Ramsdale, who has been the club's first choice for the past two seasons. Raya is now a credible alternative and will be eyeing a starting berth with Schmeichel struggling to understand why the Arsenal boss would want to create such an atmosphere between his goalkeepers.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I absolutely do not get it. I cannot understand how a manager can come to the conclusion that it’s a great thing to have competition for the number one shirt. A goalkeeper’s position is very reactive. You cannot create anything on your own, you have to wait for things to happen.
"You’re now asking your goalkeeper to prove you’re better than the other one. That means you now have to go and do stuff, and you don’t want that. It’s the one position on the pitch where you just want steady. When you have a competition situation he also plays that game for himself and for that position, and I don’t get it.
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"What you do is you put a lot of insecurity into the two of them. At the same time, having two challenging for number one, you’re also creating potentially a bad atmosphere in the dressing room because it’s a straight up competition between two guys who will either start or not play."
David Raya is poised to join Arsenal this summer (Getty Images)Arteta though has been able to manage a similar situation previously, when he signed Ramsdale whilst having Bernd Leno as his No 1. The Englishman was signed from Sheffield United in, what was at the time, a surprising move.
Leno retained his role initially before Ramsdale was thrown into the starting XI after a poor start. He kept successive clean sheets and never looked back, resigning the German to a spot on the bench before he opted to leave for Fulham in search of more minutes.
The snub however never impact on him, his colleague or the wider group, with Leno previously telling the Evening Standard: "I don’t have toxic [feelings] or bad energy for Arsenal. It didn’t end in the perfect way, but my reception at the Emirates was really good.
"I get fans coming up to me saying, 'thank you for your four years... you were very good'. I was really happy with my performances.
"Even when they dropped me, I did nothing wrong. I came through the front door and I left through the front door. I still have a connection to the club."
Bernd Leno previously lost his starting role at the Emirates (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)Ramsdale, who has produced several big moments in an Arsenal shirt, was again a standout performer as the Gunners claimed the Community Shield. They saw off Manchester City on penalties with their No 1 the shootout hero and he is more than prepared to have some compete for his shirt.
"Bring it on," he told ITV. "Nothing comes easy in football. But also at the same time you need to move along and adapt as well. I’ve done it to other people when I’ve moved to clubs.
"I’m not going to be thinking that it’s never going to happen to me. So, yeah, I think if it happens, it happens and then we’ll fight and we’ll make each other the best version of ourselves because that’s what the manager is telling us as well."
Arsenal have already made three notable signings this summer, including the club-record capture of Declan Rice from West Ham, as they look to go one step better than last season in the title race.
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