Mikel Arteta insists it is not a gamble to have two top goalkeepers at his disposal after Arsenal completed the loan signing of David Raya last week.
The 27-year-old Spain international has joined from Brentford on a season-long deal in a move that cost the Gunners £3million and can be made permanent next year for £27million.
Raya has been a long-term target for Arsenal, who have sold fellow goalkeeper Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest and loaned Alex Runarsson to Cardiff in recent days.
Bees boss Thomas Frank said on Friday he expects Raya to join Arsenal next summer, saying a loan move made no sense for a goalkeeper of his quality.
View this post on InstagramThere has been widespread criticism of Arsenal’s decision to pit Raya against Aaron Ramsdale for the number one spot at the Emirates Stadium, with the likes of former Premier League goalkeepers Peter Schmeichel and Shay Given suggesting it is a bad idea.
Arteta, though, rebuffed such ideas as – along with the signings of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber – he aims to take Arsenal from runners-up to Premier League champions this term.
“It’s not a gamble, it’s a necessity,” Arteta replied when asked if he was confident his squad would accept his gamble of providing extra competition for places.
“There is not another way. The difference between tier one and what you call ‘tier-two players’ is too big. How do you resolve that? We can bring excellent players from the academy but unfortunately today we don’t have somebody so ready to make that step.
“We have to create that environment. It’s not a competition, it’s to raise the level and the demands that we are going to be facing.
“When you see the other squads, where they have two very good goalkeepers, they spend £60, £80, £85million on goalkeepers. What does that mean? We want to do it in our own way and I’m extremely happy with the squad that we are building.
“We are going to keep building a better squad. That is what the game is going to require, what the Premier League and Champions League are going to require. It’s very simple.”
Raya is likely to start out on the bench in north London as current incumbent Ramsdale retains his place in the side for Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
The England international, 25, was quizzed about the impending arrival of Raya ahead of the Community Shield win over Manchester City and simply said “bring it on” when asked about competing to be first choice.
Asked about Ramsdale’s reaction since Raya joined last week, Arteta added: “Very positive, the way I see them training. I saw a training session they did the other day and it was fantastic.
“The connection that they have straight away is really good. But this is something that doesn’t surprise me. It’s something I expect from players.
“It is the same as I expected when I bought Declan – what is the reaction? Hopefully, really really positive, because the team wants to be better.
“If the reaction is that he doesn’t want to be better, then I would be worried, because it would mean we hadn’t created the environment that we want at this club.”
San Jose Earthquakes v Orlando City: Gonzalez certain things will turn
The San Jose Earthquakes may sit bottom of the Western Conference standings ahead of Saturday's clash with Orlando City, but Luchi Gonzalez is certain they will be just fine.
The 'Quakes saw their mini revival halted by a 4-2 loss to the Portland Timbers in midweek, having previously won three straight games across all competitions.
Their 10 points are fewer than all MLS teams except the New England Revolution (seven) have won this season, but Gonzalez has seen positive signs.
"We're going to be fine. This is a great group, and they continue to fight for each other. It's hard when we drop points," he said.
"I expect nothing but a fire in their belly and a response against Orlando and then in the next one, and it's really fun and exciting to coach this team.
"These guys work for each other and they want to keep getting better, and I'm confident they will keep getting better as the season continues."
Orlando have also made a stuttering start, earning 13 points from 12 games to sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Lions did shut out a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami side in a goalless draw on Wednesday, though, and midfielder Wilder Cartagena has seen signs of progress.
"Especially in the last few games, we've been showing ourselves to be more dangerous and attacking," Cartagena said.
"It's similar to how we were in the last half of last year but obviously there are a couple of minor adjustments that we have to make. I think we are playing a lot better in that area."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Amahl Pellegrino
Pellegrino has scored in three straight games, becoming the first San Jose player to do so in MLS play since Cristian Espinoza between July and August last year (four straight).
It's Pellegrino's first time scoring in three straight league matches since he netted in four in a row for Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in 2023.
Orlando City – Cesar Araujo
Orlando allowed 29 shots against the Philadelphia Union last Saturday but just seven against Miami on Wednesday. It was the first time in their MLS history that Orlando faced at least 20 fewer shots from one game to the next.
Araujo protected the backline admirably in midweek and will look to do likewise again here.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The home side has never lost in six all-time meetings between San Jose and Orlando.
The first three meetings were all drawn before the hosts won each of the last three, with San Jose winning at home in 2019 and Orlando recording home wins in 2018 and 2021.
After their midweek stalemate against Miami, Orlando have been shut out five times in league play this season. That is tied for the most in MLS in 2024, while their six times being held scoreless in all competitions this term also equals the most by any MLS outfit.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes – 38.4%
Orlando City – 33.4%
Draw – 28.2%
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
