Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale gearing up for daily battle with Bernd Leno to prove he is No1
AARON RAMSDALE is gearing up for a daily battle with Bernd Leno to prove he should be Arsenal’s No 1.
Boss Mikel Arteta is keeping both goalies in the dark over who will be his first choice after £24million Ramsdale’s summer arrival from Sheffield United.
And he has told the glove rivals he will be judging their displays every day in training to keep them on their toes.
Ramsdale, 23, only found out on the eve of Saturday’s 1-0 home win against Norwich that he would be making his Premier League debut for the Gunners.
He said: “I don’t know what the manager is going to do. Saturday might just have been a tactical tweak.
“It’s my responsibility to force him to carry on picking me, which is something I have to do on a daily basis.
“Now me and Bernd will be competing in a good, healthy way. We’ve got to continue that competitiveness on the training ground and I have to try to stay in the team.
“It’s been a tough start to the season for Arsenal.
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“We have our first clean sheet and our first win — and now we have to build on that.”
Arteta added: “Aaron was terrific. It wasn’t just the technical side, it was energy he transmitted, his chemistry with the backline and body language.
“We have two fantastic keepers. Now I want to see how they perform in training — and whoever gives more confidence and is more reliable is going to play.”
German keeper Leno, 29, was poor in the 5-0 hammering at Manchester City before the international break and has never truly convinced since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018.
He admitted in the summer that he was not sure if he would be staying at the Emirates this season and is now expected to be sold at the end of the campaign.
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