Earning his sixth cap for Spain, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya received his first taste of Euro 2024 against Albania on Tuesday.
Raya kept a clean sheet for Spain in their 1-0 win, and was offered the chance to show his Arsenal form on an international stage.
Before the tournament began, there was some thought that Raya could replace Unai Simon, Athletic Bilbao’s goalkeeper, as the country’s number one.
But Spain manager Luis de la Fuente seemingly saw little benefit to making such a big call before the tournament, given he trusts 42-cap Simon.
However, with La Roja already qualified for the last 16 before the game against Albania, their manager made 10 changes – resulting in Raya’s starting role in goal.
And following the Arsenal goalkeeper’s strong performance with both his hands and his feet, Spanish media have now been sharing their ratings.
David Raya survives brief Spain scare to deliver 9/10 performance vs Albania
Sport shared their review of Raya’s showing, celebrating a strong performance with his feet.
They wrote: “The Arsenal goalkeeper showed his agility with a huge shot from Asllani and another close-range shot from Broja.
“Before, he showed his effective game with his feet, even overconfident with a ball to Laporte. In injury time they avoided a tie.”
READ MORE: National media suggest Arsenal star could be ‘dropped’ after ‘disappearing’ at Euro 2024
The Laporte moment is referring to a lapse in judgement by Raya in the 38th minute, which was highlighted by a number of reviews.
At a point when it almost looked a little too easy for Raya, he tried to play the ball out and somehow slammed his pass into Laporte.
Fortunately, the ricochet didn’t fall dangerously, but Laporte still gave his goalkeeper a stern look afterwards.
Raya celebrated for late save against Chelsea’s Broja
In their rating, Estadio Deportivo also referenced Raya’s important save to ensure that Chelsea’s Armando Broja didn’t level the game for Albania.
They shared: “He had no work in the first half until the 45th minute with a shot by Asllani that he stopped with a good intervention.
“He was attentive in a play in the second half where Albania tried to surprise by quickly taking a free kick.
“Finally, he made a great stretch to guarantee victory from Armando Broja’s shot.”
And finally, Marca shared their reaction to Raya’s performance, handing him a 9/10 overall.
At half-time, the Spanish outlet awarded the Arsenal man 7/10 for his performance, but then referenced the ‘fight’ Raya showed to keep his clean sheet.
They ended their review saying: “Another great save from Raya, who had to participate much more than he would have liked for Luis de la Fuente.”
So all in all, a successful night for both Raya and Spain, who will now progress to the last 16.
That being said, Granit Xhaka has just sent a three-word message to an Arsenal player who was snubbed by his country this summer.
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