The Premier League season is only two weeks old but David Raya has already produced two incredible saves to help Arsenal to a brace of clean sheet wins.
After keeping out Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header with an acrobatic stop on the opening weekend, the Spaniard went one better against Aston Villa, somehow springing from the turf after a deflected effort had come off the bar to palm away Ollie Watkins’ diving header when the England international looked destined to score.
Just as momentum seemed to be shifting in favour of the home side, Raya wrestled it back for the Gunners who went on to win 2-0 courtesy of goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey.
“The action of David is unbelievable in the most crucial moment of the match,” Mikel Arteta told Arsenal.com.
“I thought the ball was in because the moment they hit him, he makes the save and I see our defenders watching the ball.
“I thought ‘no reaction’ and then David does something unbelievable. He did it last week. We haven’t conceded much in two games, but those are two big, big chances that we conceded and he made a difference.”
Having arrived on loan last season to compete with Aaron Ramsdale, few predicted Raya would make such a big impact at Arsenal. With the help of a very solid backline, he secured last season’s Premier League Golden Glove award at a canter and was subsequently voted into the PFA Team of the Year by his peers.
Having also been part of Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 Euro 2024 squad and with a £27 million move to the Emirates under his belt, it’s been quite a 12 months for the goalkeeper.
Speaking during Sky Sports’ Super Sunday coverage, pundit Gary Neville said Mikel Arteta’s decision to recruit his companion has been vindicated.
“I complained at the time, but what I complained about was this idea that you have two number ones and that they compete for a place. I don’t believe that happened.
“What Mikel Arteta was actually doing was selecting David Raya as number one, as we found out in the end, and letting Ramsdale down quietly.
“David Raya has had a brilliant move, the move was completed this summer and he’s definitely now the number one.”
For his part, Raya says yesterday’s save was the result of hard work on the training ground and repetitive drills that hone athleticism and reflex reactions.
“I think it’s one of those that the repetition in the training ground where you save and then you get up for another ball, is that reaction to come from the floor to get another action,” he said.
“So, it’s just a flashback from training, kind of thing. Of course, I’m delighted to be able to make that save, especially in the crucial moment that we were with 0-0. I think that gave us a little bit of a push for the team. And, not long after, I think we scored. So that was a big moment in the game.”
I hope we get an attacker in the next few days. Otherwise it will be down to keeping a clean sheet and scoring from the set-piece.
I agree, the 4 set piece goals so far this season really hammer home the point.
We have so far scored four goals, all from open play, its not a desperate situation. Though we do need some depth there with a Jesus injury and Nketiah likely to leave.
Well, hard to call it “some depth” when all attacking gun right now we have is Saka, Martinelli, Havertz and Trossard. I find it a very big concern for a team that wants to compete in PL, CL and FA cup. Very unlikely that Mikel does not sort it out in the coming days.
Our attacking options against Villa, after Trossard, is Nketiah and Nelson.
I would say that’s a little bit desperate.
I remember that Arteta said like two or three years ago that if he buys a striker he has to be prolific. I am trying to find where he made that statement unsuccessfully so far. Think, I am not hallucinating. Anybody has a recollection?
Yep. The team that scored a record number of goals last year will not score any goals this year until we change it.
The only thing Ramsdale had left on his side of the number 1 argument was shot stopping. And in the opening two games Raya has pulled off two saves of the season. Love you Aaron, but if I was you I would have been texting my agent from the bench yesterday. Like Trossard and like Havertz, Arteta has made a sublime transfer call and put a lot of arsenal fans to shame. I don’t want this to become a cult. But I am starting to question why I bother having an opinion! Such a great win yesterday. I shall be… Read more »
Wait, Trossard?
I think there was a pretty strong contingent of gooners who were angry that we couldn’t finalise the Mudryk deal and felt that Trossard was a pretty uninspired second best.
I no longer understand Arsenal’s Mudryk pursuit. Obviously he has incredible pace and *some* quality. Likely, as many supporters say, he would have developed better under Arteta and with Arsenal’s culture generally, instead of the Chelsea shitshow. But taking that into account, and considering his one very good year in a league that is several rungs down–how could Edu (and, I’m sure, Arteta) have been willing to spend that kind of money to buy him? Did they get caught up in the stupid Chelsea bidding war? Our recent purchases have overall obviously been brilliant (Rice, Havertz, Trossard, Jorginho–almost certainly Timber).… Read more »
I think Mudryk just needs to be taught the game. The talent is so obvious. But he doesn’t seem to have any understanding of the game.
In Ukraine that was probably fine as he could just play a free role. But those roles just don’t exist in the prem anymore.
Not sure how well he would’ve done. But he definitely would have needed some serious Carlos Cuesta time.
I liked it because it showed that: a) they were willing to push the owners to spend when they believed in a player. b) they had a good plan B when the bidding war got ridiculous. c) not covering the gap was never a real option. Some clubs are addicted to spending for it’s own sake. We, on the other hand, were addicted for a long time to stories about being so close to signing a player, till someone came in with a better offer. The last three years have been a good course corrective. This summer, I’m worried we’re… Read more »
I’m holding on to my Mudryk stock. The profile is insane. How many players are there with elite top end speed, playmaking, and 1 v 1 ability in small spaces? Chelsea being Chelsea, they didn’t platform him well, he played in a bad team, and now he’s already being discarded for shinier new toys.
That said we are probably feeling a little bit grateful to Chelsea for not letting us over pay for him. Would I take him at Arsenal now? I would, for the right price.
The year is 2030, The good Dr Gooner is stranded on an Island in the Pacific, with Viera Mudryk and a few Japanese soldiers dug in since the last days of WW2. Fighting on in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Clinging to stat sheets full of elite goal contributions, take ons, and goals from outside the box while the moon is in Jupiter. Meanwhile Arteta taken to playing a 2-2-6 formation. A half Raya half Shergar Centaur in goals, Saliba and Califiori at the back. Odegaard and Saka in midfield, and 6 Skynet created inverted cyborg forwards.… Read more »
If I recall, we opened at 50m. That is much more in line with the type of talent he is. When Chel$ki went way over the top, we walked.
I do think there is potentially a decent player in there, but he will always be saddled by the price tag, just like Nico.
I am very impressed by what Raya did yesterday, but ideally, you really don’t want your keeper being in the headlines. We need to minimize the big chances our opponents get and make sure our strikers are getting the MOTM awards.
Ideally we would win every game without conceding an effort at goal. It would get very boring very quickly. We kept 16 clean sheets last season and have started this one with two. If I am right we have not lost an away game in 2024. Enjoy 😉
You are right. In 2024, we are 9-1-0 in our 10 away matches, and even more remarkably, in those 10 matches we have scored 32 goals and conceded 2.
I understand but I get the feeling that if we set records by conceding no chances at all the whole year some people would be moaning that we’re allowing passes into our penalty box.
“I thought the ball was in because the moment they hit him, he makes the save and I see our defenders watching the ball.
“I thought ‘no reaction’ and then David does something unbelievable.”
Who else read this statement and thought of Arteta’s reactions to the players when the match is analyzed?
I saw it doing the game(how the players just stood and not reacted) and said, this doesn’t look good.
You reckon an “all or nothing” style explosive tantrum? A “fucking soft! Soft. As. Fuck!”? Do we still think he does that sort of thing regularly? I hope he’s tamed that down somewhat because it does eventually wear out its effectiveness if used too frequently.
If anyone’s watched The Bear the part where Carmy presents his ‘non negotiables’ list and I’m like “oh yeah, he *is* Arteta” 😅 here’s to Mikel not getting stuck in the fridge just as we win our first league title.
He might have brought up the Foggin Estandards in that “conversation” 🙂
We don’t need a new striker. We have Raya. He’s worth about 15-20 goals a season, together with Saliba and his merry bunch of murderers <3