- 23 hours ago
Arsenal get Raya ‘mistakes’ warning
Robin Bairner
- 20 Sept 2024 06:41 BST
- 3 min read
David Raya was Arsenal’s hero in their opening Champions League match of the season on Thursday against Atalanta, but the Spaniard has been urged to remember these great moments for later in his career.
Raya made an astonishing double save on Mateo Retegui, first diving to his right to keep out a penalty before recovering in incredible fashion to keep out the Italy international forward’s follow-up header. It was a moment that likely won Arsenal a point.
For the former Brentford shot-stopper, it was not the first highlight-reel moment of the season. Against Aston Villa the 29-year-old also produced heroics with a similarly incredible recovery.
READ MORE: 'The best goalkeeper in the world': Reaction after STUNNING Raya double save
Current ETV
David Raya
GK
Arsenal
David Raya
GK
Arsenal
ETV Range
€17.8M - €29.7M
TNT Sports pundit Steve McManaman urged Raya to remember these moments because he will make errors due to the nature of the game Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants him to play.
“He'll make more mistakes because he's being asked to play out from the back because that's what the manager wants him to do. He's going to have to remember these great moments,” the Champions League winner with Real Madrid said.
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Raya has proved Arteta right
Owen Hargreaves, the former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder, was more wholesome with his praise of Raya. The ex-England international also hailed Arteta for his decision last season to drop Aaron Ramsdale in favour of the Spaniard.
“You can't win the Champions League without a top goalkeeper,” Hargreaves said. “Ramsdale was unlucky but David Raya is an exceptional goalkeeper.
“You've got to credit Arteta. He took a ton of stick and it was a big call, but the way he's playing, he's proved him right.”
Raya is the best goalkeeper in the world, according to FootballTransfers’ unique model, with the Arsenal keeper coming out on top ahead of Manchester City’s Ederson and Athletic Club’s Unai Simon, who started for Spain at Euro 2024 at his expense.
