Chelsea icon Frank Leboeuf believes Mikel Arteta made a ‘mistake’ signing David Raya but thinks the Arsenal manager must now be ‘stubborn’ and stick with the goalkeeper.

Raya has emerged as the Gunners’ No1 between the sticks after ousting Aaron Ramsdale for the role. Arteta axed the England ace for the Spaniard following the September international break. But Raya’s recent performances have raised questions about the shot-stopper’s spot.

Arsenal fell to their sole defeat for the season so far at RC Lens after a mistake by Raya in the Champions League tie. He then produced a nightmare performance against Manchester City in the Premier League. Yet the Citizens’ timid attacking form let the 28-year-old off the hook.

Raya has hit a bad patch of form in Arsenal’s recent games

Raya gifted RC Lens possession with a loose ball to Takehiro Tomiyasu while 30 yards out of Arsenal’s net. Adrien Thomasson ultimately produced an exquisite finish to score the Ligue 1 side’s equaliser. But the error seemed to haunt Raya in the first half against Manchester City.

The two-cap Spain star was nervous in possession and almost gave the Citizens a goal when Julian Alvarez blocked Raya’s clearance. Declan Rice also had to clear Josko Gvardiol’s effort off the line after Raya rushed into no man’s land. Either error could have changed the game.

Leboeuf believes Arteta must stick with Raya over Ramsdale

Reports by Dean Jones now claim that Arteta still has ‘full belief’ in Raya and has no desire to recall Ramsdale for Arsenal. The 25-year-old barely put a foot wrong before being dropped last month. Fulham’s Andreas Pereira did catch Ramsdale off his line to score in a 2-2 draw.

Ramsdale also made the 2022/23 PFA Team of the Year with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba. So, Leboeuf cannot fathom why Arteta benched Ramsdale for Raya after Arsenal’s unbeaten start. But he believes Raya must stay their No1, despite Arteta’s mistake.

“He has to be stubborn because he made a mistake in my point of view,” Leboeuf told ESPN. “So, he has to carry on with Raya. He got Raya because he didn’t want a better goalkeeper, he wanted somebody who was better with the ball. It’s why he lets Raya take so many risks.

“He thinks that Raya is better with the ball than Ramsdale. He wanted a kind of sweeper, he wasn’t looking for a goalkeeper again. And therefore because he made that decision [Arteta] created a fragile competition between the players because the players can get shaky.

“They know that if they make a mistake they can be substituted. So, for me, because he made that decision, has to stick with it. Otherwise, he’s going to lose all his credit for the decision he made. It doesn’t make any sense for me.”

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