Controversial Mikel Arteta decision leaves Arsenal with potential problem in Premier League title race

Arsenal have started the 2024/25 season with great confidence, sitting just one point off the top of the Premier League table.

After missing out on the Premier League title by two points last term, the hunger in Mikel Arteta’s squad grew.

This season has started strongly for the Gunners, who remain unbeaten in all competitions and firmly in the title race.

Usurping Manchester City will be Arteta’s goal once more however, the manager could face a significant problem based on the reliance on one key player.

Arsenal told of David Raya’s importance

While Arsenal don’t necessarily have a standout player, the Gunners have a lot to thank David Raya for this term.

The Spaniard made his loan move from Brentford permanent in the summer and has taken his performance to the next level ever since.

Assessing how Arsenal’s squad has performed so far this season, journalist Charles Watts reserved special praise for Raya, admitting that the goalkeeper has saved the squad on numerous occasions already.

“I think if it wasn’t for David Raya, Arsenal would not be sitting anywhere near as pretty as they are right now,” Watts explained on the Inside Arsenal podcast.

“They could have easily surrendered what, six points? You think of the saves he made in some of those games.”

The Spain international was named Arsenal’s player of the month for September as a result of his contribution, pulling off several world-class saves to earn the headlines.

While Arteta is relishing placing his trust in Raya last season when recruiting the shot-stopper from Brentford, the manager could face some significant problems if anything were to happen to Arsenal’s first-choice ‘keeper.

Mikel Arteta made a bold decision to axe Aaron Ramsdale

Arteta was brave to offload Aaron Ramsdale in the summer, seeing the Englishman’s Arsenal career go from hero to zero incredibly quickly.

Ramsdale went from Arsenal’s number one to a player with limited game time and confidence due to Raya’s emergence, seeing him join Southampton in August.

While things have worked out for Arteta and Arsenal so far without Ramsdale, Watts’ comments on the squad’s reliance on Raya should cause alarm bells to ring.

Arsenal welcomed Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto on loan to replenish the depth in the position, however, this hasn’t necessarily bolstered the quality of the squad.

The Brazilian is a well thought of ‘keeper in the Premier League but, in the instance that Raya wasn’t available, there’s no guarantee that Neto would be in the position to be relied on.

This is due to the fact that the Bournemouth loanee is unlikely to feature much at all for the Gunners, being cup tied and of course firmly behind Raya in the pecking order.

In Ramsdale, the manager had a reliable ‘keeper to fall back on, having seen what the Englishman was capable of earlier in his Arsenal career.

With Neto, as a result of the Brazilian’s lack of game time, such level of reliability is absent, putting Arteta in a position of putting all of his eggs in one basket.

Of course, it would only be an issue if Raya was injured or unavailable during the campaign, with the gap between first and second choice a lot further than it was last season.