Arsenal legend Thierry Henry feels David Raya made a ‘basic’ error to let Ross Barkley score Luton Town’s third goal before the Gunners took a dramatic 4-3 win on Tuesday.
Barkley gave the Hatters a shock lead on 57 minutes at Kenilworth Road as Luton came from behind against Arsenal. But Kai Havertz (60’) and Declan Rice (90+7’) replied in a theatrical fashion. Rice headed home Martin Odegaard’s cross in the last meaningful act of the fixture.
Gabriel Martinelli (20’) and Gabriel Jesus (45’) had twice given the Gunners the lead away to Luton. But Gabriel Osho (25’) and Elijah Adebayo (49’) pulled Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders back before Barkley scored. Adebayo and Barkley also each punished Raya’s errors.
Thierry Henry felt David Raya made a basic error in Luton Town vs Arsenal
Adebayo hit Luton’s second equaliser of the night after beating Raya to meet Alfie Doughty’s corner. Barkley then gave the Hatters the lead by drilling his shot under the 28-year-old. The former Chelsea midfielder aimed his effort straight at Raya, who opted to fall to the ground.
Gunners icon Henry felt Raya made a basic error by refusing to use his feet to save Barkley’s shot, though. The Arsenal legend believes he would have saved the shot ‘all day, every day’ if Raya had used his feet like David de Gea would and not try to absorb the shot with his body.
“I’ve been told so many times, ‘Go with the closest part of your body to the ball’, which was your foot,” Henry said on Amazon Prime after the match. “De Gea, the big Peter Schmeichel used to do it. Same thing. By the time you go down there, how are you going to save that?
“And you see the replay here, the ball is going to his feet. And by the time you go down [you have no chance]. If you stay, the ball is going to your feet – easily. But if you take it away, the ball will go under. By the way, it’s an awkward way to stop it because it’s [at the] hip level.
“We all knew, if you shoot across while they go down that happens. If he stands his ground like Schmeichel used to do it, with De Gea, he saves that with his foot all day, every day. But it’s easy for me to talk. I wasn’t a goalkeeper but I can see that clearly you stay you save it.”
David Raya’s problems will put Mikel Arteta’s statements to the test
Raya will now put Arsenal manager Arteta’s statements to the test after his calamitous game at Luton. The Spaniard instilled zero confidence between the sticks at Kenilworth Road after flapping at Doughty’s corner and not seeing Adebayo nearby before conceding Barkley’s hit.
Arteta stated after signing Raya on loan from Brentford in a £30m deal that there have been times when he wanted to substitute his goalkeeper but the Spaniard lacked the ‘courage’ to. Now, Raya retaining his place in Arsenal’s line-up at Aston Villa this Saturday will test Arteta.
“I have few regrets,” Arteta said in September, via quotes by Sky Sports. “But one of them is that on two occasions, I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes of two games in this period to change the goalkeeper in that moment. I didn’t do it. I didn’t have the courage to do it.”
Raya has not proven to be an upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale at all since replacing the 25-year-old. Instead, the Spaniard has often been a worrying presence at the back for Arsenal. Raya has been shaky on the ball and was neither strong in the air nor as a shot-stopper at Luton.
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