Aaron Ramsdale's father reacts to Arsenal replacing his son with David Raya

Aaron Ramsdale's father has reacted to David Raya taking the number one spot in goal for Arsenal following the completion of his move from Brentford.

Aaron Ramsdale, who was the first choice for Arsenal in the 2022/2023 campaign of the club, has been relegated to the bench since the move of David Raya to the club from Brentford on the final days of the summer 2023 transfer window.

In an interview with former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell, Ramsdale Senior revealed, "We did not have a clue [Ramsdale was going to be dropped]. I didn't have a clue, our family didn't have a clue, Aaron didn't have a clue that he was not going to carry on playing. All of a sudden, he's not been played. You just have to look at it personally and I'm probably saying too much but: Aaron is going to be the cup goalkeeper, and David Raya is going to be the main man unless something happens, an injury or a sending-off. And Aaron's got to live with that and he is living with that even though he's not been told it. By anybody. Squads evolve all the time, nobody is going to be there forever. David Raya has not pulled up trees so far, let's say he's not going to. Even though the way it's been done, in my eyes, it's been wrong."

He goes on to explain that his son has become a shadow of his former self and is not as happy as he used to be, "Aaron lost that smile. And it's difficult to see him there," he said. "We all keep saying: 'you need to keep smiling'. And at the moment in time, we haven't got that smile in him. David Raya is a great goalkeeper and it's not his fault. He's just come in as a goalkeeper. It's just like when Aaron came in and Bernd Leno was there. Aaron says Raya is a lovely guy and he works hard with him. Aaron is trying to help in as much as he can to settle in with the squad. It's possibly the way it's been done, not knowing the reason why."

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