Mikel Arteta admits dropping Aaron Ramsdale has not been easy for him, but that every decision he makes is with the "best possible way' in mind for Arsenal.
The Spaniard relegated Ramsdale to the bench in favour of summer signing David Raya for last Sunday's 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League, and he kept faith with the Brentford loanee for the romping midweek triumph over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
The 4-0 success at the Emirates Stadium marked a successful return to the competition for Arsenal after a six-year absence, with the gloss to the scoreline added by captain Martin Odegaard, who signed a new long-term contract on Friday.
Arteta's decision to drop Ramsdale has dominated the news cycle, and he was again probed about how the implications of such a big decision. He firstly told his pre-match press conference, ahead of the north London derby on Sunday, that the decision to replace the 25-year-old had been hard, reserving special praise for the player's strength of character and influence around the club.
"Yes it is hard, but with other players it is the same," Arteta said. "Aaron is an exceptional character, he has got this charisma and this aura around him, and we all know that and I fully understand that. It happens with many other players, you see the reception Emile got the other night and it’s sending a message that we really like him and I really like him, and we have to deal with that. But at the end, you have to make the team, the line-up of what you feel and the best way to prepare the game.
Probed on Ramsdale's reaction to being dropped, Arteta added that he cares about every single one of his players, and stated that the former Bournemouth and Sheffield United stopper had responded really well to the news.
"I understand that and it is very difficult with every player. And I suffer and I care about every player who is not playing but this is the competition and this is my job to make decisions in the best possible way for the team.
"He has been very supportive and really good around the place and that is what I expect from every single player as when you are on the field, there is someone else who is not. So it goes both ways. So far he has been really, really good."
Arteta also spoke of the difficulty of telling players that they won't be playing, even if the decision is perceived to be in the best interests of the team.
"Comfortable? Maybe I look [it] but in your tummy when you have players sitting and you have to announce the line-up, it is one of the hardest things," Arteta remarked about how whether he's at ease with being ruthless in the pursuit of silverware.
"Players feel valued and happy when they play. And when they don’t it is very difficult. You want them to feel loved and trusted and the way to do it is to play them. But everybody understands it is a team sport and it is always 11 players starting. But we have seen how important as well the finishers are, and how important everybody is going to be in the season and not look back at the team that have played the first six or seven games of the season."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Why dropping Aaron Ramsdale has been hard for Mikel Arteta.
