Mark Langdon: Mikel Arteta keeps getting the big decisions right

Rewind to September 2023 and there was a huge debate going on in north London as football pundits and fans alike discussed whether Mikel Arteta had made the right call in dumping goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in favour of new signing David Raya.

Those who were in the Ramsdale camp pointed to the harsh nature of the decision, but the Spanish shot-stopper was once again Arsenal's saviour at Atalanta on Thursday in the Champions League, making an incredible double save from Mateo Retegui to earn the Gunners a 0-0 draw, and it was not a dissimilar story in the 2-0 win at Aston Villa, where the former Brentford man somehow kept Ollie Watkins at bay when the match was scoreless.

Kudos to Jamie Carragher, who was on the right side of the Ramsdale v Arteta debate and in an article published on the Daily Telegraph on September 21, 2023 said: "The simple truth about Arsenal's goalkeepers: Raya is better than Ramsdale. Arteta has upgraded a key position, not created a problem for himself - some of the criticism has been baffling."

In fairness, some of the criticism had been over Arteta's pretence that he considered using both goalkeepers as number ones, but clearly he preferred to make the decision privately and has been rewarded with Raya winning the Premier League's Golden Glove last season.  

While Raya is helping Arsenal's push for Premier League and Champions League glory Ramsdale is now playing for Southampton, showing Arteta's ruthless streak is a positive for the Gunners. 

He famously dumped captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earlier in his reign and is Jose Mourinho-like in his approach to big games where entertainment is a long way down his list of priorities, and that might not help produce a classic when Arsenal head to Manchester City this weekend.

Arsenal had just six shots (two on target) and two corners at Atalanta and 46 per cent possession as they seemed happy enough with a point. Last Sunday's scrappy 1-0 success at Spurs saw the Gunners force seven shots and 36 per cent possession as they claimed victory via another set-piece, while the hard-fought 2-0 triumph at Aston Villa was achieved with only nine shots in total.

You would normally associate Arsenal with more attack-minded football than 22 shots in three away games. However, Arteta is doing it his way and is more than comfortable to be patient in bigger away matches, trusting his four centre-backs and Raya to shut down even the strongest opponents.

Attention to minute detail matters to Arteta, who has been mocked for bringing a loud speaker to training to try to replicate the atmosphere of an away trip to Anfield and also organising a dinner for staff during which organised pick-pockets nimbly stole possessions from players.

They don't all work as intended - at least from the outside looking in - but Arsenal's set-piece mastery cannot be a fluke and it was interesting to see Raya go over to his goalkeeping coach for some last-minute advice before saving Atalanta's penalty on Thursday.

 Martin Odegaard's injury limits Arsenal's attacking abilities, but there will be a meticulous Arteta plan to nullify City and I will be backing under 2.5 goals.  

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