Arsenal‘s Premier League matches this season have followed a similar pattern.
They won both games 2-0 against clubs from the Midlands. They dominated the opening exchanges before enduring a stodgy period after half-time. Bukayo Saka played a key part in all four goals. And David Raya made a vital reaction stop at a crucial time.
Saka and Raya have been Arsenal’s standout performers in the opening two fixtures but the latter was the headline act at Villa Park on Saturday.
Against Wolves on the opening day, Raya got a strong right hand to keep out Jorgen Strand Larsen’s powerful header from point-blank range to maintain Arsenal’s slender one-goal advantage. It was an excellent intervention but he topped it against Aston Villa on Sunday with a miraculous stop to deny Ollie Watkins when the scoreline was level and Arsenal were wobbling.
When Amadou Onana’s wickedly deflected shot looped over Raya’s despairing dive and bounced straight to a poised Watkins via the underside of the bar, Villa’s supporters rose as a claret and blue mass, ready to celebrate.
All the England striker needed to do was nod the ball into an empty net with Raya prone on the floor, like an upturned beetle. Watkins got a good connection to his header but watched aghast as Raya bounced back to his feet like a toddler rebounding off a trampoline and palmed it clear with a strong left hand.
Watkins should have converted the chance but it was a remarkable reaction from Raya, the type he would have made thousands of times before in training sessions when reflexes are tested and sharpened for precisely those situations.
Ben Benson, Raya’s former goalkeeper coach at Blackburn Rovers, described him as a “street footballer” and there was an element of performance art about it, an entertaining exhibition of agility you might see on the cobbled streets of Covent Garden.
“He wasn’t necessarily interested in all of the bells and whistles and extra equipment in training, it would just be very street footballer-ish,” Benson told i in May.
“He wanted to be in all the finishing drills, no matter how many sets there were. He was happy to get his hands dirty, happy to stay out there all day doing the extra bits. As a young player, he just had the enthusiasm to train and do extra to get better.”
WHAT. A. SAVE.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 24, 2024
World-class from David Raya!pic.twitter.com/XJQVTwE7ef
Mikel Arteta described the save as “unbelievable,” while Gary Neville picked Raya as the game’s standout player on Sky Sports.
“How he’s thrown himself onto the ground in quite a dramatic style, he’s jumped up in the air and landed hard on the grass and then all of a sudden he’s there with his hand!” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
“It’s absolutely remarkable physical work that he puts into being able to do that. The agility, the strength, the work he’ll do in the gym and every day with his goalkeeping coach. We’ve just seen something there that’s a world-class moment.”
Debates over whether Raya is among the world’s best shot-stoppers have been prevalent since the Spain No 2 made the move to Arsenal from Brentford last summer. What is no longer up for discussion is that he warrants his place as Arsenal’s first-choice keeper over Aaron Ramsdale.
After a sticky first few months, he has barely put a foot wrong for the Gunners. Last week, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year after winning the Golden Glove for keeping the most clean sheets.
Replacing Ramsdale was no easy feat given his impressive form for the Gunners and popularity among supporters. It took Raya a while to win over the fans but he has done so this year with his penalty shootout heroics against Porto in March a turning point at which perceptions began to shift. It proved that he was a big game player, capable of producing key moments in crucial games.
He has clearly earned the trust of the defenders in front of him too given how effectively they work together as a unit. Arsenal’s defensive record in 2024 is astonishing.
The shutout at Villa Park means that they have kept 13 clean sheets and conceded only nine goals in their 20 Premier League games since the turn of the year. Raya has recorded eight clean sheets in his last 10 league games away from home.
Arsenal’s defensive statistics have improved since Raya displaced Ramsdale. In 2022-23, Arsenal let in 43 games in 38 Premier League games; last season it was down to 29.
Ramsdale conceded 1.13 goals and kept 0.36 clean sheets per game in 22-23; Raya has conceded 0.70 goals and kept 0.52 clean sheets per game for Arsenal in league matches. There is a clear upward trajectory in the numbers.
Arsenal’s collective appetite for defending was summed up late on at Villa when William Saliba raced across to make a last-ditch sliding tackle on Jacob Ramsey just as he had a clear shot on goal. Arsenal were 2-0 up with only a few minutes remaining. Their back five are always alert and even if their concentration wavers for a split second they possess immense powers of recovery.
Arsenal were indebted to Watkins missing a sitter in the first-half and their goalkeeper for making a stunning save in the second, but there is no question that they are the most formidable defensive unit in the top-flight. Raya has played his part in helping them get there.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/lO5xmWg
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