BBC pundit stunned by £85k-a/w Arsenal star’s involvement vs Burnley

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BBC pundit Rachel Brown-Finnis admitted her surprise at how involved David Raya got during the early exchanges of the Premier League game between Arsenal and Burnley.

The Gunners played host to the Clarets this Saturday in their last game before the November international break. Arsenal went into the day on the back of their first defeat in the Premier League this term. While Burnley arrived in north London after losing each of their prior four.

Arsenal had also recorded one of the best defensive records through the opening 11 fixtures of the term. Only champions Manchester City (8) had conceded fewer goals (9) than Mikel Arteta’s side before this weekend. Burnley also boasted the worst offence with eight scored.

Raya’s early involvement as Arsenal faced Burnley stunned Brown-Finnis

Their records in the Premier League this season could hardly have been further apart before kick-off on Saturday. Yet Burnley had a raft of chances to beat Raya in the Arsenal net over the first 19 minutes to stun Brown-Finnis, who did not expect the Clarets would be a threat.

“It has been a relatively even game so far,” Brown-Finnis noted on the BBC’s Final Score. “As much as they have their defensive frailties, they are good going forward, Burnley. They have made Raya work early on in this game, which is something I was not expecting.”

Burnley put Raya to work straight away on their trip to Arsenal, with Zeki Amdouni forcing a save after eight minutes. The Swiss latched onto a loose ball after referee Michael Oliver got in the way of Jordan Beyer’s pass into Josh Brownhill and burst through before taking a shot.

Burnley would ultimately deny Raya his latest clean sheet

Raya got down well to tip Amdouni’s effort wide but the £85k-a-week ace would not keep a clean sheet as Burnley visited Arsenal. He had taken four shut-outs in seven Premier League appearances for the Gunners since joining on loan from Brentford before playing the Clarets.

Arteta’s current No1 has also kept two clean sheets in four Champions League ties. Raya got his latest shut-out on Wednesday night as Arsenal beat Sevilla 2-0 at Emirates Stadium. But the goalie failed to cover himself in any glory in their defeat at Newcastle United last week.