Aaron Ramsdale handed Arsenal exit route as PL rivals prepare January bid

Ramsdale lost his place in the Arsenal starting XI

Ramsdale has lost his place in the Gunners' starting XI in recent weeks to David Raya, who joined on loan from Brentford in the summer.

The England international was dropped after Arsenal beat Manchester United back in September - a move that was highly anticipated.

Despite looking shaky in goal at times, Mikel Arteta has opted to stick by Raya, leaving Ramsdale watching on as a spectator from the bench.

That may be about to change however. According to Ben Jacobs, Chelsea are plotting a winter move for Ramsdale following concerns over the form of Robert Sanchez.

Sanchez is one of many summer arrivals at the Blues however he was at fault in Saturday's draw against Arsenal as his poor clearance only went as far as Declan Rice, who fired into an empty net from distance.

He then conceded again as Leandro Trossard equalised late in the second half as the Gunners came from two goals down to rescue a point.

Chelsea would likely find any deal tough to negotiate given that Arsenal would almost certainly be unwilling to sell to a Premier League rival while it is unclear if the former Sheffield United man wants to move on from the Emirates Stadium anyway.

For now though, Arteta seems to be keen on keeping Raya in goal. When asked if he had seen any signs of the Spaniard struggling with the pressure, he said: "I haven't seen that.

"That's the pressure of playing for big clubs. You have to win and you have to be at your best and you have someone next to you who is pushing you every single day.

"But if we were to go position by position, you would tell me 'what happens with the left-back, what happens with the holding midfielder'. Did you ask Jorginho a question already, Gabriel Jesus there's another question that and that's the debate.

"That's the beauty of the game as well and young find you have other options, you're going to make those talks more frequently as well. Errors are part of football and mistakes happen, from defenders, from strikers and from goalkeepers."

Related links:

• Man United star brutally ‘excluded’ from official squad photo for current season
• PL rival joins Arsenal and Chelsea in race for Victor Osimhen
• Mikel Arteta sends warning to Arsenal stars after Toney transfer boost