Mikel Arteta has praised David Raya’s showing in the win over Manchester City despite fan concerns over what they deemed to be a nervy performance from the loanee.
Raya made his sixth consecutive appearance in goal for Arsenal on Sunday, having taken over starting duties from England international Aaron Ramsdale in mid-September. Although Raya kept a clean sheet – his fourth in six games – in the famous win, the Spaniard regularly looked shaky when in possession of the ball.
The goalkeeper misplaced a rather concerning 33% of his passes out from the back during the game, and one of these almost ended up in the back of the Arsenal net when Julian Alvarez blocked a pass from inside the six-yard box. Fortunately for Raya, the ball spun just wide of the post after deflecting off the foot of the City attacking midfielder.
Despite these nervy moments, Arteta insisted that he was impressed by the goalkeeper.
“He was excellent,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “He can misplace one or two passes and I can demand him to stop the ball when he needs to, to get understanding, clarity and provoke the opponents.
“Overall, the way he controlled the area, how dominant he was, how high he played – he was excellent. I love players with big courage and David definitely has big ones.”
Arteta was also asked about his insistence on utilising his goalkeeper to play out from the back even when his team are under pressure from a high press, stating he likes his team to play with “courage”.
“What I like is the courage,” he said. “It doesn’t happen, keep doing it and keep doing it. It’s the team that we are. We have to continue to do that. The crowd needs to understand that – if not, shout at me because it’s my fault.
“You’re going to have these moments against this team, you’re going to give balls away in this phase.”
Thanks to the win over City, Arsenal have moved level on points with Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League table heading into the international break.
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