Mikel Arteta illustrated his narcissism through his bold claim in response to dropping Aaron Ramsdale for David Raya on Sunday, claims Simon Jordan.

Raya was handed his first start of the season following his loan move from Brentford in the 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

Asked about his decision to rotate, Arteta said in his post-match press conference that he regrets not swapping goalkeepers during games on two occasions.

“One of [my regrets] is that on two occasions I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes in two games in this period to change the keeper in that moment and I didn’t do it,” Arteta said after the win.

“I didn’t have the courage to do it. And we drew those games and I was so unhappy and someone is going to do it (soon) and maybe it [the reaction] will be, ‘oh! That is strange. Why?’

“Why not? Tell me why not. You have all the qualities in another goalkeeper and you want to do something to change the momentum, do it. It is a regret that I have and my feeling is to get everyone engaged in the team. They have to play regardless of the competition. Do it. That is my message.”

READ MORE: Prem keepers ranked: Ramsdale only kept off the bottom by fellow England man

It would certainly be a bold move, and Jordan reckons Arteta’s comments are merely an example of the Spaniard trying to “look clever”.

“It feels like a bit of innovation for innovation’s sake,” Jordan told talkSPORT. “It feels like Arteta is making sure that everyone thinks he’s a clever, innovative manager that isn’t just following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola.

“I don’t understand the context of this interview and the structure of why he said it and what benefit this wisdom gives us. I’m obviously not against the idea of it if there’s good reasons for it, like a set of circumstances where there are specific skillsets that one goalkeeper has over another,” he continued.

“Of course you don’t just stick with the orthodoxy. Ten years ago, no one would have ever imagined goalkeepers could play the way Ederson plays and does the things that he does, so that’s an evolution and a revolution in the expectations.

“People accept now that goalkeepers are right up there. I’ve always believed… goalkeepers are fundamentally an integral part of a winning side – they win you games, they earn you points, win you leagues at times – and obviously we’ve seen that now with the price tags of goalkeepers. We’re seeing goalkeepers being bought for £75m in [Alisson] Becker, but this sort of innovation feels to me like ‘look at me, look how clever I can be.”

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