All Arsenal fans were well aware that Unai Emery just loved to get one over the Gunners after the way he was quickly ddismissed from his coaching position at the Emirates, and it showed last season when his Aston Villa side beat us at home and away, with our oldboy Roberto Martinez not conceding even once against his old team.
And the way Villa played in the first half it was looking like the Gunners were yet again going to come away disappointed until David Raya provided us with the turning point of the match. This was how Raya described the moment to Arsenal.com: “I know it’s a shot from outside the box,” he began. “I think Gabi gets a nick on it, gets a deflection. I think it hits the ground, and then it goes over me, and I’m already going for to the shot. I think I put my knee on the floor, I’m not sure. And I see the ball going towards the goal.
“I tried to get a nick on it, but it hits the bar and from there I just remember kind of a slow motion, the ball going towards the pitch again. And I just stand up and I see Ollie Watkins with the head, and then I just react to it. The main thing is I got a hand on it to clear it away. That’s the most important thing.”
David Raya 🧤⛔️ pic.twitter.com/DelM8T5sm6
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 25, 2024
The keeper was then asked if he thought it was the best save of his career, and he replied: “Yeah, I think so,”
“I think it’s one of those that the repetition in the training ground where you save and then you get up for another ball, is that reaction to come from the floor to get another action.
“So, it’s just a flashback from training, kind of thing. Of course I’m delighted to be able to make that save, especially in the crucial moment that we were with 0-0. I think that gave us a little bit of a push for the team. And, not long after, I think we scored. So that was a big moment in the game.
“It’s like a goal, basically. So it’s really important, I think, for me and I think for the team.”
There were definitely a lot of fans that originally thought that Mikel Arteta was totally wrong to drop Aaron Ramsdale in favour of David Raya last season, but he has now proved everyone wrong and has become yet another star in Arsenal’s amazing defensive line-up.
Is everyone now convinced that Arteta was proven right in the end?
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No, they’re not. Raya may be just as good now if not marginally better than Ramsdale in some areas but the original decision by MA I still consider to have been unnecessary and incorrect especially considering the original and continuing financial effects which are still being dealt with.
That said, it was MA’s decision to make and we have to support Raya as we would Ramsdale and give him the credit or criticism that he is due for his play. He has done his best play yet in his last 2 games and certainly looks to be much improved.
Can we just keep both of ’em? I really do like ’em both. That’s the goalkeeping problem solved for the next ten years.
Ramsdel is a better goal keeper when it comes to saves during open play, but Ramsdel is error prone. We spent all season at the top of the table yet Ramsdel lost the golden Glove to de Gea whose team was shipping in goals. The goal he conceded against Sporting from the centre of the pitch in the quarterfinal of the Europa League shows that we will not win anything with Ramsdel in goal. It was a silly goal to concede. I believe that was the tipping point for the coach.
He needs to stay on the bench so that he will be serious when he gets a chance. There are questionable decisions that the coach has made, not this one.