Is this the end of Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal? The goalkeeper is a shell of his former self and may need a loan move to stake a claim for England

At full time, Mikel Arteta made a beeline for his match-winner Kai Havertz.

Havertz’s troubles fitting into this Arsenal side have been well documented. He deserved the manager’s acclaim after his last-gasp header won a match that seemed destined for a draw.

Yet what was happening at the opposite end of the pitch was far more telling. The team, without Arteta, had made their way to Aaron Ramsdale, each player enveloping him in a warm embrace. He just about managed a smile upon completing a clean sheet after a couple of first-half errors that had gone unpunished.

It may be too early to say but the goalkeeper’s introverted demeanour with his team-mates, his pensive look to the crowd, had the feeling of a farewell.

Is this the last time we see the 25-year-old in an Arsenal shirt? A January loan move is a possibility for a man desperate to make an impression on Gareth Southgate ahead of England’s Euro 2024 campaign. If it is his final match, what a sorry, sad ending. It did not have to be this way. It all goes back to the Gunners’ 1-0 win at Everton on September 17 — David Raya’s first league start for the club in goal.

Afterwards, Arteta claimed his keepers were interchangeable but, after Raya kept his place despite questionable displays against Manchester City and Newcastle, it is clear that talk was hogwash. Raya is his No 1 and Arteta has created a scenario which added heaps of pressure on to Ramsdale on Saturday.

Raya, on loan from Brentford, was ineligible to face his parent club, so in came Ramsdale for his first league start since September 3.

After 50 seconds, a rendition of ‘You’re just a s*** David Raya’ had begun from the home crowd, and in the first half, Ramsdale produced his worst display in recent memory. He gave the ball away to Yoane Wissa in the box after 13 minutes, from which Bryan Mbeumo failed to convert, then accidentally threw the ball directly into the turf when trying to launch it upfield.

It felt like watching a kid being picked on by a group of school bullies, which the teacher had somehow facilitated.

Brentford’s forwards pressed Ramsdale at every opportunity. His demotion has wrung the confidence out of a player who was shortlisted in September for the Yashin Trophy — the award for the world’s best keeper.

You can sense Arteta is aware of the conundrum he has created. Post-game, he ducked questions involving the word ‘Ramsdale’ like a prime Muhammad Ali. 

Take a query on how Ramsdale had struggled in the first half but grew in the second. He replied: ‘I’m so happy with the team, the way the team performed with the clean sheet. We move on. So happy.’

Not particularly convincing. Maybe comments made by Ramsdale’s father Nick, in which he criticised the manager’s handling of his son, have irked Arteta.

Arsenal are top of the Premier League again. You could say: does it matter that the second-choice keeper is so short of confidence?

Well, if it weren’t for Declan Rice’s thigh denying Mbeumo on the goal-line in a sequence started by Ramsdale’s panic in the box, they would not have won here.

Arteta earlier this month warned the player not to rush a decision on his future. But would he stop Ramsdale from leaving on loan so he can stake a claim for England?

That would be harsh on a player who once was the man — and is now a shell of his former self.

BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Flekken 6; Ajer 6, Pinnock 6.5, Mee 6.5; Ghoddos 6 (Zanka 90min), Onyeka 6 (Lewis-Potter 90), Norgaard 6, Yarmolyuk 6 (Baptiste 72, 6), Janelt 6; Mbeumo 6, Wissa 6.5 (Maupay 72, 6). Booked: Ajer. Manager: Thomas Frank 6.

ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ramsdale 5; Tomiyasu 6, Saliba 6.5, Gabriel 6.5, Zinchenko 6.5; Odegaard 6.5 (White 90), RICE 8, Trossard 6; Saka 6.5 (Jorginho 90), Jesus 6 (Nketiah 66, 6), Martinelli 6.5 (Havertz 79). Scorer: Havertz 89. Booked: Martinelli. Manager: Mikel Arteta 6.5.

Referee: Tim Robinson 6. Attendance: 17, 20