When it comes to goalkeepers, Arsenal’s decision-making seems a tad odd.
If you’d asked most Gooners last summer they would have sooner seen Bernd Leno sold than Emi Martinez, especially after the long-serving Argentine played such a colossal role in their FA Cup success.
Flash forward 12 months or so and, with reports suggesting Arsenal plan to pay in excess of £30 million for Aaron Ramsdale, heads are once more being scratched in north London.
And that’s no slight on Ramsdale.
The Sheffield United man is a fine shot-stopper and the fact he’s suffered relegation in each of the past two seasons – first with Bournemouth and then the Blades – shouldn’t detract from his undoubted potential.
It’s worth pointing out Liverpool signed Gini Wijnaldum and Andy Robertson from relegated clubs – and that didn’t go too badly.
But Sheffield United’s asking price of £32 million is £20 million more than Arsenal would need to pay for another Championship glovesman (Times).
One who, if we’re being brutally honest, outshone Ramsdale last season, even if his campaign also ended in heartbreak.
Ramsdale or Johnstone for Arsenal?
According to The Athletic, West Bromwich Albion have slashed Sam Johnstone’s price tag from £20 million to £12 million on the eve of the new Championship season.
The England international has just one year left on his contract and the Baggies would rather cash in now than risk losing Johnstone on a free next year.
And while Arsenal’s recruitment drive appears to be prioritising players at the start of their careers rather than those approaching their peak – Ramsdale is just 23 – Johnstone is hardly a creaking veteran at 28.
The one-time Manchester United youngster could still have a decade left at the top level.
And Arsenal’s decision to pay £20 million more for a man of similar ability but with less experience in the bank raises yet more questions about a club where logic goes to die.
Here’s what some Arsenal fans on Twitter had to say about the situation:
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