Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is baffled by Arsenal’s interest in Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.
With Arsenal already having Aaron Ramsdale, Agbonlahor has told talkSPORT that he thinks “something’s happened” involving the 25-year-old.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported on Twitter that David Raya has reached an agreement in principle with Arsenal over personal terms, so the Spaniard moving to the Emirates this summer certainly looks possible.
He was also a target for the Gunners’ north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur before they signed Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli.
According to Sky Sports, both Spurs and Manchester United were interested in Raya, who has been described as “top-class“, but were reluctant to pay Brentford’s asking price.
What has Aaron Ramsdale done wrong?
Not much, he was easily one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League last season, managing to keep 14 clean sheets.
Without him, the Gunners’ campaign might have gone a bit differently. Ramsdale played a huge part in their title challenge and clearly impressed his superiors after he was handed a new long-term contract in May.
With that in mind, then, it is a bit of a surprise that Arsenal are going after another No.1 like Raya to potentially challenge him, rather than a No.2 who is happy to sit on the bench.
It is clear, though, that Mikel Arteta has other ideas for whatever reason.
Following the additions of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, Arsenal’s squad has got much stronger. And if a goalkeeper of Raya’s calibre arrives, it will obviously improve even further.
Arteta is going to have more options to choose from this upcoming season, but keeping them all happy could be tricky. And it is especially hard to imagine Ramsdale or Raya being content with a spot on the bench, with both players being Premier League No.1s.
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