When Arsenal sat top of the Premier League on Christmas Day you could be forgiven for thinking Mikel Arteta and Co didn’t need to act swiftly in the transfer window.
Everything was going according to plan in their bid to win the title but in the space of a few crippling weeks, their chances of doing just that has seeped away.
The Gunners have lost three games in a row, dumping them out of the FA Cup and pushing them down to fourth spot in the table.
A large reason has been down to the form of their attackers with just one goal being scored over those three encounters from a total of 61 attempts at goal.
Arsenal’s striker targets
A striker, you’d think, would be the order of the day. Alas, their efforts to sign one are proving fruitless so far, largely due to the seismic price tags being placed on their targets.
Ivan Toney has been linked regularly this winter with an £80m valuation on his head. However, after spending so much in the summer, notably £105m on Declan Rice and £65m on Kai Havertz, financial fair play is restricting their ability to match such a price.
Related
Arsenal set to go all in to sign £80m “monster” over Karim Benzema
The 27-year-old could be a smarter long-term bet than the Frenchman.
Likewise, Victor Osimhen will cost a fair whack, potentially in the region of £120m if he is to leave Napoli at some point this year.
So, how could Arsenal afford these types of players? Well, cashing in on valuable assets could be one way. Step forward Aaron Ramsdale, a man signed for £30m and now allegedly worth in the region of £51m, as per CIES Football Observatory.
Ray Parlour thinks Ramsdale “doesn’t need to leave”
As the weeks go by in January it feels as though the goalkeeper will be staying at Arsenal for the time being. That’s despite loan links to Newcastle and chatter of a permanent move to Chelsea across various reaches of the media.
However, Ray Parlour, talking to Football FanCast on behalf of NetBet Betting thinks he could stay and reevaluate his position in the summer. Crucially, he also thinks David Raya isn’t an upgrade on the Englishman.
Discussing the goalkeeper situation at the moment, the Romford Pele commented:
“No, I don’t think he [Raya] is an upgrade. For Mikel, he has two top goalkeepers and this is great for Arsenal.”
|
Raya vs Ramsdale: 2023/24 PL Season |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Raya |
Ramsdale |
|
Saves |
1.47 |
1.20 |
|
Goals against |
1.07 |
0.80 |
|
Save percentage |
61.5% |
60% |
|
Crosses stopped |
1.40 |
0.60 |
|
Actions outside the area |
1.73 |
1.80 |
|
Pass success |
77% |
75% |
|
Stats via FBRef. |
||
Subsequently discussing the place of Raya’s deputy for the time being, Parlour continued: “Ramsdale was great against Liverpool and looked solid and was unlucky to be on the losing side. He seemed to have his confidence back and this bodes well for the rest of the season.
“Ramsdale will know, I believe that he doesn’t need to leave the club to be in the Euros squad for England and I don’t think he needs to leave the club in January. Wait until the summer, see how many games he plays between now and then and he can asses after that.”
So, does he really need to leave? Ramsdale did indeed display against Liverpool that he may well be back to his best. He made a brilliant save down low in the second half to keep the Anfield outfit at bay, only for it to be in vain as Arsenal exited the FA Cup in the third round.