Clean sheet for Raya on debut by Daisy
As the team sheet came out on Sunday afternoon, Arsenal fan’s had mixed emotions when we saw David Raya had replaced Aaron Ramsdale in the starting line up for our clash against Everton at Goodison Park.
Starting his first match in Arsenal colours since joining the club on a season-long loan from Brentford, Raya came out looking confident and ready to go. From the very start of the game, he seemed to have a very calm and collected presence on the pitch.
After having such a good season with Brentford last year, it was clear that Arteta brought him in for competition for Ramsdale, but I don’t think anyone expected it to come so soon. Although a few fans were worried, especially as we haven’t had much luck going to Goodison Park in the past few years, most fans before the game would have probably preferred for Ramsdale to start, but Raya soon showed why he was picked.
Looking quick and in control whenever he had the ball at his feet, taking pressure off his defence when Everton were pressing hard, allowing them to pass it back to him and start an attack from the back to the front, a lot of the time starting the press himself. Although he didn’t really have to make any big saves, his presence was known, with his ariel abilities shining bright from the start. Quick with his feet on the turn and almost perfect distribution throughout the game.
Arteta was asked in his post-match interview if we could expect to see much more of Raya being rotated throughout the season and in true Arteta style, he was very vague, saying “The same rationale about why Fabio Veira played here or Eddie or Gabriel Jesus” and “I have 11 players to pick and no-one is different”.
Raya walks away from his Arsenal debut with a clean sheet and a win, proving many Arsenal fans wrong and looks to be the perfect competition for Ramsdale this season. With a game almost every three days, Arteta is going to have to be able to look to his bench and trust the players on it. Although some may have thought it was a risky move from Arteta, it’s a move that ultimately paid off.
What was your thoughts on Raya’s debut performance Gooners?
Do you hope we will get to see more of him this season, or do you think he should relegate Ramsdale to the bench?
Daisy Mae
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