Mikel Arteta has explained why he was “sure” Arsenal needed to sign David Raya to replace Aaron Ramsdale during the 2023 summer window.
Arsenal are coming off winning the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years and could lift the Champions League for the first time in their history this weekend when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Head coach Arteta has done a brilliant job at rebuilding Arsenal and turning them into one of the best teams in Europe, and he has made several brutal transfer decisions to reach this stage.
One such transfer was made during the 2023 summer transfer window, with Arteta opting to sign Raya to replace Ramsdale.
Some felt this was needless at the time because Ramsdale did little wrong as Arsenal’s No.1, but Raya has been proven a huge upgrade in recent seasons.
Now, Arteta has explained why he opted to push so hard for Arsenal to sign Raya.
“That’s a good example of what a manager needs,” Arteta told Gary Neville on The Overlap about signing Raya to replace Ramsdale.
“I was very convinced that we had to make a change. Not because Aaron didn’t have the quality, because I believed to go to the next level that we needed a different profile of goalkeeper.
“It was very difficult to explain, difficult to explain upstairs and externally. It could maybe not make sense. That’s when you need a sporting director, in this case Edu to say, “Mikel, are you 100 per cent sure?”
“I went through it with him again and again. ‘You know you’re going to have an issue.’ I know. ‘Mikel, you’re going to expose yourself.’ I know. ‘You really want to do this?’ Yes, please do.
“Edu really convinced the board because they need to be convinced and to understand. ‘Mikel says this, ok let’s do it.’ It doesn’t work like this.
“And then it has to work. And then Inaki [Cana, goalkeeping coach] played a pivotal role because he knew him from Brentford and many years.
“I wasn’t sure if it was going to work or not but David is going to present himself and dedicate himself to the cause and be an incredible ambassador for the club. I was sure.”
“It’s been better than I could ever imagine…”
Arteta was also asked to reflect on winning the Premier League title and he acknowledged that it has been “incredible”.
“It’s been much better than I could ever imagine, it’s been so emotional, so natural, and to see that much joy, happiness and pride around the club, it’s just amazing,” Arteta added on winning the Premier League title.
“It’s a lot of joy and relief, when you are able to take the club and make the right steps, and take it really close, it’s great, but it’s not what we’re looking for, and I know at this club, that is not enough.
“So, to actually do it, it feels amazing and gives a lot of value to a lot of people who have contributed to achieve that.
“Personally, to be a part of delivering something that means so much after 22 years, it’s just incredible.”
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