After finishing second in the Premier League last season, Arsenal acquired goalkeeper David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Raya was brought in to provide competition to No. 1 Aaron Ramsdale, who had been the club's starter since joining the North London side in 2021. The Spaniard did more than provide competition, though — Raya quickly became the starting 'keeper under Mikel Arteta and has showed no signs of giving up that spot this season.
That has led to transfer speculation surrounding Ramsdale, a situation that a former Arsenal player considers unnecessary.
Jermaine Pennant questioned the summer move for Raya, and also warned that bringing in the 28-year-old may have caused some discontent among Arsenal's other players.
"As a player, you would look at Mikel Arteta’s decision to replace Aaron Ramsdale and frown upon it; you would think that he has treated Ramsdale harshly," Pennant said to Genting Casino.
"You would also think to yourself, ‘If he can do that to our number one goal keeper, then is my place safe?’
"At the end of the season, if Arsenal are champions, then everyone will be praising Arteta and saying that this is a decision he got right."
Pennant added that he doesn't believe that Raya is a big enough improvement over Ramsdale to risk unease among the rest of the players.
"It’s not as if Arsenal went out and signed a player who is miles better than Ramsdale – it’s not like they signed a player of [Liverpool goalkeeper] Alisson’s ability," he said.
"When you compare the two players, you may lean towards Raya being the better fit because of the football that Arsenal want to play. Raya is probably better with his feet than Ramsdale, but that’s small details.
"I don’t think there is much between the pair of them. It was a baffling decision by Arteta at the time. It felt like he was upsetting the morale in the team for marginal gains."