That’s why Arsenal bought David Raya. People say that current goalkeepers need to be able to make plays, but the best goalkeepers are the ones who can keep the ball out of the net when it looks like the other team is going to score.
Early in the second half, there was no goal, and Aston Villa’s confidence was rising. Then, Amadou Onana’s shot from the edge of the box hit Gabriel, an Arsenal defender, and went back into the goal. To quickly fix things, Raya jumped backwards and hit the ball over the bar.
That wasn’t the end of him either. Ollie Watkins looked like he was going to head in the loose ball since there was no defender in sight. But just as the Holte End was about to cheer, Raya threw himself forward and blocked it.
After less than 15 minutes, replacement Leandro Trossard scored with his first touch to put Mikel Arteta’s team ahead. Soon after, Thomas Partey sealed the win. Villa’s Emi Martinez, who used to play for Arsenal but left four years ago, should have done better with that, which made Raya’s saves look even better. Martinez thinks he is the best player in the world now that he has left North London, and the visiting fans were very mean to him after that mistake.
At this point in the season, nothing is set in stone, but Arsenal lost the title last year because they lost twice to Villa. It felt like a very important win, even though the Gunners got lucky at times.
“On paper, our last two games against Aston Villa should have been easy wins, but they weren’t. Something was missing, and today we filled it,” Arteta said. “We won the game with a little luck and good play from each of our players.”
The game didn’t get going until the 15th minute when Emi Martinez made a great low save on Bukayo Saka. The game didn’t start for five minutes because of trouble communicating between the officials and the VAR room, and fans were still taking their seats well into the first half. There were long lines outside of Villa Park because of a new way to buy tickets.
Villa were happy to let Arsenal have the ball, and it took the Gunners a long time to get ready in the first half. John McGinn got into a heated argument with Arteta after the Villa captain was fouled. Then Watkins missed a great chance to put Villa ahead.
After Gabriel was picked off by Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers was able to slide the ball across for Watkins. Twelve yards from the goal, in front of the North Stand, Watkins somehow missed the mark and sent the ball wide. Villa Park made a noise.
Arsenal looked shaky for a moment as Kosta Nedeljkovic, who was filling in for the injured Matty Cash, pushed Timber off the ball. But the worries were getting to them. Pau Torres dropped a simple pass, and Unai Emery jumped down the sidelines in anger.
It wasn’t always easy for Bailey to attack, but he did a great job at the other end to stop a cross from Kai Havertz. Then there was a funny moment: McGinn hit William Saliba with the ball while he was on the ground, but Ben White hit it right back at the Scotland player. Referee Michael Oliver was great the whole time and did a good job of keeping the players cool without giving them a card.
Declan Rice passed the ball to Martinelli, who crossed it for Havertz. However, the German got tangled up at the near post. When Rogers dropped deep and ran at Arsenal’s back line, it was starting to worry them. Rice got a yellow card for stopping the young attacker as he drove for the goal.
Arteta was also getting tense, and he was angry that Onana didn’t get arrested for pushing Thomas Partey.
Then came Raya’s masterpiece. First, he pushed Onana’s shot, which had looped off Gabriel and hit the post. Then, he somehow got back up to stop Watkins’ follow-up header. Watkins should have scored, but Raya’s quickness was truly amazing.
