Arsenal had to fight for their 3-1 Premier League win over Brentford on New Year’s Day.
Arsenal started the game with a lot of the ball, but still found themselves behind early on as Bryan Mbeumo finished off a swift Brentford counter-attack.
The Cameroon international was able to glide past Riccardo Calafiori before wrong-footing David Raya and beating the Gunners’ goalkeeper at his near post.
Raya was making his first appearance against his former club since joining the Gunners, having been ineligible to face the Bees whilst he was on loan at the Emirates Stadium last season.
The Spanish shot-stopper’s shaky return to the Gtech Community Stadium almost turned into a complete nightmare in the first half, as he spilled a routine effort that came straight at him over his own shoulder.
Raya then had to scramble back towards his own goal, and was just able to claw the ball away before it crossed the line, sparing his blushes somewhat. Raya’s passing radar was also off throughout the match.
Arsenal fans blast David Raya for display vs Brentford
Raya has rightfully been praised this season, as he has generally been in magnificent form between the sticks for the North London club.
However, plenty of Arsenal fans on X believe that nerves got the better of him as he returned to his old stomping ground.
One said: “Raya is shaky against his former side.”
Another claimed: “Raya probably is still having a hangover from last night’s Eve.”
One Arsenal supporter stated: “Raya playing with hella nerves against his ex.”
Another added: “Raya’s T Rex arms will always be a concern when the ball is put either side of him but that goal he almost conceded when the ball was hit straight at him was terrible shot stopping.”
Referring to the illness that spread through the Arsenal squad ahead of this match, one chipped in with: “That bug got into Raya’s head lol.”
Another asked: “Raya nervous about playing against his former club???? Why?????”
The true cause of Arsenal defensive issues
Whilst Mikel Arteta will have been concerned by Raya’s performance, there are bigger defensive issues for the Spanish coach to address on the training pitch in the wake of this match.
Reviewing Mbeumo’s opener, the manager will be infuriated by how cheaply Martin Odegaard gave the ball away in the middle of the park.
The Gunners were then too slow to respond to the counter-attack, and lost cohesion as they retreated further into their own territory.
Calafiori was then caught out with poor body positioning and was therefore unable to block Mbeumo’s effort.
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