Adrian Clarke has explained why he believes Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, chose David Raya over Everton on Sunday.
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After a vital 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park, Clarke was speaking on TalkSPORT (18/9 7:42am).
Leandro Trossard’s outstanding goal had to be relied upon by Arsenal despite their dominance throughout the game to win.
Despite having a tonne of attacking possession, the Gunners didn’t create many clear-cut opportunities.
But a win is a win, and this one was assured by a rather easy clean sheet.
This season, Mikel Arteta chose the same back four for the first time.
By slipping into midfield while Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba kept Beto and Dominic Calvert-Lewin quiet, Oleksandr Zinchenko once more made an impression.
The major talking point was the substitution of David Raya for Aaron Ramsdale in the starting lineup.
Raya performed well, and Adrian Clarke explained why he believes he was selected to play for Arsenal against Everton.
Although it’s difficult to say Raya played a significant role, Mikel Arteta’s choice resulted in his team earning three points.
Why Raya started for Arsenal against Everton, according to Clarke
When discussing the 28-year-old on TalkSPORT, Clarke said: “David Raya might have played in this game because he’s so brilliant at coming out to catch crosses.
Although they didn’t make many crosses in this game, Everton is huge and can hit crosses into the box.
“He had 51 balls caught previous season, which was second only to Emi Martinez’s total.
“[Aaron] Ramsdale only came out and caught 17; their styles of goalkeeping are completely dissimilar.
And I believe we witnessed that during the game when Raya came out among the bodies with a lot of confidence.
It makes a lot of sense, according to Clarke, that Raya will start for Arsenal against Everton.
He wasn’t really necessary, though, to deal with an aerial barrage because Arsenal’s defensive was so strong.
He completed 32 of 34 passes yesterday while just making one save and two high claims.
William Saliba found his new partner to be impressive, and one analyst called him a “class act.”
