Following some mistakes in his last few games, David Raya’s performances at Arsenal are still being closely watched. Since moving to the Emirates Stadium in the summer, the Spaniard has established himself as Mikel Arteta’s go-to goalie.
After Bernd Leno was replaced in 2021, Aaron Ramsdale had been the clear favorite for a while. With his ability to play out with the ball, the England international had helped the Gunners move from Premier League championship contenders to top four strugglers, but Raya’s arrival has changed everything.
With Arsenal participating in four different tournaments, Raya came to Ramsdale to offer competition. Raya joined from Brentford on an initial loan with the possibility of a permanent signing. But ever since his Everton debut, Raya has been the clear front-runner.
Still, errors have happened. Adrien Thomasson scored in the 2-1 Champions League loss to RC Lens thanks to a poor pass from Raya. Mykhailo Mudryk lobbed him in the most recent match with Chelsea due to poor positioning.
Some questioned Arteta’s choice to continue with the Spain international after there were more tense moments in Tuesday night’s victory over Sevilla. Thierry Henry acknowledged that the goalie worries him, which led Gary Neville to assert that the Gunners manager has a problem on his hands.
Additionally, ESPN expert and former Liverpool right-back Steve Nicol has stated that Raya might pose a serious threat to Arsenal this year. “I think if he continues to flap at crosses [that] come into the box and gets himself in bad positions like Shaka [Hislop] thought he did for the Mudryk cross at the weekend then I think it’s going to have an effect on Saliba and Gabriel because their starting position is going to change,” he stated on ESPN FC.
Now that we don’t have the 6’4″, intimidating goalie Aaron Ramsdale, they’re thinking crosses into the box, which changes the role of a defender. It changes your job slightly to know that your keeper has that authority in the box.
You may need to adjust your strategy a little bit as a defensive team when your goalie isn’t very skilled in that area.
We’re a long way from that, but I believe the worry is that his ineptitude from these balls in could begin to show. There are preliminary indications that there might be an issue.