Arteta defends Arsenal star after Neville labels him a ‘nervous wreck’ against Man City
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has defended David Raya’s performance as the Gunners beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Raya recently bumped Aaron Ramsdale out of the starting XI under Arteta despite the England international not doing too much wrong in the early weeks of the season.
The Spaniard has only conceded four goals in his six appearances this season and has looked decent – but Neville insisted that the Arsenal goalkeeper looked “jittery” against City.
Raya did come under scrutiny during the week when his misplaced pass led to an equalising goal for Lens in the Gunners’ 2-1 loss in the Champions League.
Neville said during commentary of their match against City on Sky Sports: “They (City) should have scored. The goalkeeper is all over the place in these first few minutes. He’s really shaky, Raya.
“He’s just a bit jittery, Raya. He’s not seeing things as clearly as Arsenal fans would like.”
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Raya dawdled on the ball during the first half before clearing the ball into Man City striker Julian Alvarez with the ball rebounding just wide of his own net.
And after witnessing the incident, Neville added: “I can spot a keeper a mile off that’s a nervous wreck and there’s one right in front of you. The mistake in midweek, he’s carried into this game. He’s not sharp enough and he’s very lucky.
“It’s quite obvious the goalkeeper is struggling but he’s still playing it short. They’re going to get punished if they’re not careful. When you can see he’s struggling as much as he is, just get it forward. Certainly keep it away from him.”
But Arsenal boss Arteta insisted he was happy with Raya’s performance against Man City and hailed his compatriot’s “courage”.
“I think he was excellent,” Arteta said to Sky Sports. “The way he controlled the ball. How dominant the was and how high he played. I love players with courage and David certainly has big ones.
“[City] give you a lot [of problems] and we gave them a lot of issues as well. It is not easy to get out. You need the right timing, the right movement, the right moments. I like the courage.
“You are going to have these [hard] moments against this team. You have to be direct and managed the emotions and make sure you don’t get caught against this team.”
