Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya won the Player of the Match award for his performance against Sporting CP.
The Spaniard has had some time off recently. He didn’t play either of the Gunners’ last two games in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, and only played a little over an hour for Spain during the international break.
Arsenal missed Raya on both occasions and ended up losing against Manchester City and Southampton. Those games showed just how important he is to the side.
On Tuesday night, Raya saved Arsenal yet again, and his performance was so good that even Sporting CP manager Rui Borges praised him after the game.
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Sporting CP manager says Arsenal star David Raya was the best player on the pitch
David Raya has been one of Arsenal’s best players this season.
The Spaniard has saved the Gunners on so many occasions this season, and he is among the biggest reasons why they have the best defence in Europe.
Against Sporting, very early in the game, Raya pulled off an outrageous save to deny Maximiliano Araujo. In the second half, he managed two more excellent saves to keep the score 0-0.
Raya was very smart with the ball at his feet too and looked a lot more composed than Kepa Arrizabalaga did in Arsenal’s two cup defeats.
After the win in Portugal last night, Kai Havertz called Raya the best goalkeeper in the world, and we completely agree with him.
Sporting boss Borges then claimed that the Arsenal number one was better than everyone else in the first leg.
He said on Amazon Prime Video Sport, as translated by Alex Aljoe: “Yes, I would say that David Raya was the best player on the pitch today because we had some really, really good chances to score, but he made some superb saves.
“Whereas our goalkeeper, Rui, wasn’t overly troubled in goal, and it was a pretty equal game. So, we can feel confident going into the game at the Emirates.”
TRUE or FALSE: David Raya is the best goalkeeper in the world…
David Raya’s goalkeeping stats are absolutely incredible
Raya is having the best season of his life.
The Spaniard has kept 15 clean sheets in the Premier League and seven in the Champions League, more than any other goalkeeper in either competition.
Furthermore, Opta have revealed that Raya has saved 90% of the shots on target he has faced in Europe this term, which is again better than any other goalkeeper whose club have not been eliminated.
Thierry Henry tipped Raya for the Player of the Season award not too long ago, and the Arsenal legend is absolutely right.
Without the former Brentford man, Arsenal would not be where they are right now.
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