The Keeper Conundrum

Firstly, I'm ecstatic to see we got a big win against City yesterday. It was a match I fully expected nothing from, so once again I'm happy to be proven wrong.

We have something of a problem though, in terms of team selection. Goalkeeper is an absolutely key position, because it's the one which gets the least support from surrounding teammates, and it's also the one where any mistake can immediately change the landscape of a game. And oddly, we have a real selection headache.

I love Ramsdale, and this season he's barely put a foot wrong, so to be benched in such a manner seems like a slap in the face. I can't recall him doing anything to really deserve being relegated to backup and cup keeper status, especially since he was part of the reason we came close to the title last year - but when you look at a few key moments (28 seconds in against Southampton), he was also part of the reason we came close but not close enough. But - nobody is perfect and everyone is entitled to make mistakes, and he wasn't alone in that. His general goalkeeping, especially shot stopping, is almost perfect, although his footwork drives me into a panic.

Raya was brought in especially to be a sweeper keeper. He is renowned for utilising the ball at his feet, although he is also respected as a very solid all-round keeper. However, I wouldn't quite place his general goalkeeping on the same level as Ramsdale - though it isn't far off - although he was a big part of Brentford being relatively successful last season. His first couple of games had me relaxed watching his footwork, but the last couple have started giving me palpitations, and using his feet is one of the main reasons he was brought in.

Maybe taking up the mantle wholesale is too much for Raya. And being given cup games won't be nearly enough for Ramsdale.

In ice hockey, of which I'm a big fan and former casual player, it's common practice to have tandem goalkeepers who split games almost equally, as it stops burnout and enables different systems to be used for different opponents. So surely it could be an option here. My thoughts are that it would be better to use a tandem system (Ramsdale for use against heavily offensive teams where we sit back and contain more, Raya for when we can play a higher line and need a sweeper keeper for stopping counter attacks) than to hedge it all on one keeper. All we will do is end up with one of them leaving, and for the first time in a long time we have two genuine starters.

Ramsdale could wait for Raya to blow it or get injured, but for the former to happen it means either dropping points or coming close enough to it that we're shaking, and we don't need that. Besides, it could take a while for Arteta to run out of patience, and January - and Ramsdale's potential exit - isn't that far away.

I don't see why a team has to have a designated starter if the situation could dictate options otherwise, and I hope Arteta sees it that way too.