Soccer

Aaron Ramsdale nominated for special award despite Mikel Arteta plan to drop him

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has been nominated for the 2023 Yachine Trophy, despite reports that Mikel Arteta wants to drop him.

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Arteta is giving serious consideration to benching Ramsdale and giving David Raya a run in the Arsenal first-team.

Ramsdale has served as the Gunners’ No.1 since his arrival from Sheffield United in 2021 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season.

There has been added pressure this term, though, after Arsenal decided to bring in Brentford goalkeeper Raya in the summer transfer window.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman came out and defended Ramsdale after the north Londoners’ 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday but the Englishman fears he’s on the brink of losing his spot as the club’s first choice.

Despite the rumours over his starting spot, Ramsdale has been nominated for the prestigious Yachine Trophy, confirmed by the Ballon d’Or Twitter account.

The award is handed to the best goalkeeper in world football and Andre Onana, who left Inter Milan to join Manchester United this summer, is also on the list.

Nominated for the 2023 Yachine Trophy @AaronRamsdale98 @Arsenal @England #trophéeyachine #ballondor pic.twitter.com/gOvyXHWXdc

Ederson is nominated following Manchester City’s historic treble triumph while Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez are on the list too, with the latter helping Argentina win the World Cup last year.

Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and former Nottingham Forest star Brice Samba have also been nominated as well as Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, Morocco international Yassine Bono and Frenchman Mike Maignan.

Meanwhile, Ben Foster has branded Arsenal boss Arteta ‘pathetic’ for his decision to bring in Raya to challenge Ramsdale for the No.1 spot at Arsenal.

‘That’s not the way to do things,’ Foster told his YouTube channel. ‘I hate it, it’s pathetic. It’s something that didn’t need to happen, right. They did not need to sign David Raya.

‘He’s been a top goalie for two years. He’s on the edge of being England’s number one with Jordan Pickford, he’s right there.

‘When he’s full of confidence and he’s got a manager putting his arm around him, he’s as good as anyone in this country.’

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