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‘Worrying’…Paul Merson reacts after what he saw David Raya do in final few minutes for Arsenal last night
Paul Merson admitted that there was a moment late on involving David Raya as Arsenal beat Luton Town which he found particularly worrying after the goalkeeper’s nightmare at Kenilworth Road.
Merson was speaking on (broadcast on 6/12; 9:31) after the Spaniard made two big mistakes which so nearly cost the Gunners an important win.
David Raya is coming under fresh scrutiny after a tough day at the office on Tuesday night. The 28-year-old was at fault for two of Luton’s goals. Raya failed to deal with a cross for the home side’s second, and he saw the ball go under him for their third shortly after.
Paul Merson worried by David Raya moment in Arsenal win
Obviously, that will strengthen fans’ calls for Aaron Ramsdale to come back into the side. And Paul Merson shared that he spotted one more concerning moment from Raya just before the final whistle.
“I think the Raya one, he’s brought it on himself. I can see why he’s brought Raya in, a bit of me, because in this day and age, you work on stats. And his stats were very good, good with the ball, good shot-stopper. When he wasn’t playing for Brentford, Brentford weren’t the same team. When he was playing for them, they were better. But as I say, you play for Brentford in front of 15,000, you play for Arsenal in front of, let’s be honest, five, six million people because you’re being watched around the world from all the fans. It’s a different game. And I think he’s under pressure now. I think the lad, he looks nervous. He looks worried,” he told .
“There was even one at the end of the game, the lad crossed the ball over, it was offside, but he could have come and got it. And he just left it. And I thought, ‘oh, worrying’.”
Mikel Arteta now in a very tricky position
Mikel Arteta is facing such a difficult decision over what to do with his goalkeepers now. Certainly, if he believes that he really does have two number ones, then a change should be made and Ramsdale should come back in.
However, it does appear that few are buying that Raya is not the clear number one. So Arteta may be wary of dropping him after taking a massive gamble earlier this season.
The problem is that Ramsdale’s performance against Brentford was largely shaky, particularly in the first-half. So he will be rusty if he does return to the fold. And that comes with its own risks.
However, Raya’s confidence has got to be pretty low right now. He will know how popular Ramsdale is with the fans. And he will know how his performance on Tuesday will have looked.
If he makes another mistake anytime soon, many Arsenal supporters will look back at this moment and ask why Arteta did not make a change when the warning signs seemed so blatant.