Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports News (18/08/21 at 7:05 pm) that Arsenal should be signing Sam Johnstone instead of Aaron Ramsdale.
The former Sheffield United midfielder stated that he has ‘always had my question marks’ over Ramsdale.
After weeks and weeks of speculation, it finally seems as though Arsenal are going to land their number one goalkeeping target of the summer.
But former Premier League midfielder Hendrie, who watched West Brom shot-stopper Johnstone at Aston Villa, thinks Arsenal are looking at the wrong player.
“I have always had my question marks over him,” said Hendrie. “The money they can generate into the football club. I just think it was hard not to turn it down.
“It’s a great opportunity for himself. Playing in a fabulous Arsenal side, I think it’s a great opportunity for him to go and really establish himself as a goalkeeper. He still has a hell of a lot to learn.
“But spending that sort of money. I presume, he will go straight into the starting XI.
“I think if you look at goalkeepers out there. Sam Johnstone, last season, was probably one of the best keepers around. I know he had an awful lot of shots to defend. I seen him at Villa, I thought he has got better. Out of the two, I thought that’s the one I would be pushing for.”
Only time will tell whether or not Arsenal have made the right call here, but one thing is for sure, there is serious pressure on Ramsdale’s shoulders before he has even officially joined.
Given that the Gunners are paying big money for Ramsdale’s talents, he surely has to go straight into Mikel Arteta’s XI.
If he is registered in time for Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea on Sunday – the deadline is Friday lunchtime – then it will be interesting to see if Bernd Leno warms the bench for that all-London affair or not.
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