Paul Merson blasts Arsenal player for ‘selling Mikel Arteta up the river’
Paul Merson claims Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was “sold up the river” by goalkeeper David Raya during their 1-0 loss to Newcastle last weekend.
Raya’s performance have come under the microscope in recent weeks after Arteta chose to replace Aaron Ramsdale with the Spaniard earlier in the season.
Despite not doing much wrong, Ramsdale was dropped for the Gunners’ 1-0 victory over Everton in mid-September with Arteta preferring Raya ever since.
Ramsdale has come back in for a couple of League Cup matches but Raya – who made the move to Arsenal from Brentford in the summer – has been the number one for Premier League and Champions League games.
Raya has made a number of high-profile errors this season with the Spaniard flapping at Joe Willock’s cross which led to Newcastle United’s controversial winner against Arsenal last weekend.
Arsenal boss Arteta could yet face a Football Association charge after he criticised the officials after the match, having been asked to provide his observations having called the winning goal “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.
The Gunners released a statement to back up Arteta’s comments about the officials but Merson thinks Raya should be criticised for his part in Anthony Gordon’s winning goal.
Merson told Sky Sports: “Mikel Arteta has gone mad at the end of the day his goalkeeper has sold him up the river.The goalkeeper should catch that every day of the week.
“If you see his position he’s two yards in front of the front post when he crosses the ball. Any other day of the week a goalie comes out, catches that and throws it out to his full-back.
“It’s just covered over, it’s unbelievable.
“If you watch his positional play, I’m not a goalkeeper but I played with two of the best you’ll ever see in David Seaman and Peter Schmeichel the positional play there was unbelievable.
“It wasn’t even a great cross it was middle of the goal.”
Merson hasn’t been the only pundit to call out Raya’s part in the goal with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also critical of the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Carragher said on Sky Sports: “Let’s not get lost in all the VAR stuff.
“The Arsenal goalkeeper [David Raya] has, again, made another mistake and this is a massive problem now for Mikel Arteta.
“This is a huge problem. Again he’s made the same mistake, like he did a couple of weeks ago at Chelsea, and he got away with it. He hasn’t got away with it here.
“Look at where he is initially, when the shot comes in initially he’s outside his near post.
“The ball flies across the other side and keep an eye on him: he tells his players to get out, he’s wanting the ball to be called out of play and then he just keeps edging and edging forward.
“And when that ball leaves Joe Willock’s foot, again, he – the goalkeeper – is outside his near post.
“Now this a recurring theme with this goalkeeper a lot. He finds himself where he’s out of position and he can’t then reach the ball.
“And I actually think it then has a knock-on effect when you’re talking about the foul, because I think Gabriel Magalhaes is actually stooping because he thinks the ball might evade the keeper and he might have to [head it clear].”
