Journalist Charles Watts was seriously impressed by what he saw from one under-fire Arsenal star against Newcastle United.
Goalkeeper David Raya produced an eye-catching display between the sticks as Arsenal hammered Newcastle United 4-1 on Saturday evening.
Whilst the Gunners ultimately failed to keep their third consecutive Premier League clean sheet, Raya cannot be held accountable for Joe Willock’s late consolation goal. The Spanish shot-stopper never stood a chance of getting anywhere near the former Arsenal midfielder’s looping header.
In general, though, the 28-year-old put in a very assured performance. Although he was scarcely troubled by shots on his goal, he did play a key role in eliminating danger on numerous occasions before it had a chance to develop into anything more threatening.
As Mikel Arteta’s outfield players sought squeeze up the pitch and play an aggressive game on the front foot, in the visitors’ territory, that left a huge swathe of open space behind their defensive line. On a couple of occasions, Newcastle were able to knock hopeful balls into this area for their attackers to chase. Before any Newcastle forward could make anything of these opportunities, though, Raya was reliably quick off his line to clear the danger.
The former Brentford man was also composed with the ball at his feet, coolly playing around the Newcastle press as the Gunners sought to build up moves from the back. Alternatively, he would seek out Kai Havertz with a long ball, allowing Arsenal to move up the pitch quickly.
David Raya vindicates Mikel Arteta tactics against Newcastle
Things have not been entirely plain sailing for Raya since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium in the recent summer transfer window. He suffered a setback in the Champions League on Wednesday, too. Many Arsenal fans felt that Raya was to blame for the late winner Porto scored at the Estadio do Dragao.
Raya was criticised for being too far off his line as Galeno’s long-range effort secured a last-gasp victory for the Portuguese outfit.
It is true that the three-cap Spain international habitually takes up a very aggressive starting stance off his line. This allows him to excel at claiming crosses that come into his box, and at rushing out to snuff out through-balls, as he did against Newcastle. It does, however, also mean that he can occasionally be caught out and concede a soft goal.
Charles Watts is convinced that Arteta is comfortable with this trade-off. Speaking on his Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, the reporter said, “I thought he played really well, David Raya. Unlucky not to get his clean sheet. Obviously he could do nothing with the goal… His starting position was so good, and so aggressive, this is what Arsenal want from him. This is what Arteta wants from him.”
“So, when goals go in like they did against Porto, you can question it a little bit, I suppose, but this is what he’s being asked to do. It’s why Arsenal signed him. Why Arteta signed him. It’s the way he wants to play, and he showed that last night with the sort of sweeper-keeper he was playing in the first half, and he snuffed out any sort of danger Newcastle had on the counter-attack.”
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
