Mikel Arteta has rejected Gary Neville‘s comments claiming David Raya is feeling the pressure as Arsenal‘s new number one goalkeeper.
Raya, 28, has come into Arteta’s side while on loan from Brentford, and usurped Aaron Ramsdale to be the first choice goalie for the Gunners.
During the weekend’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea, which Ramsdale missed as a new father, Raya was criticised for making mistakes, including his positioning for Mykhailo Mudryk‘s cross which went into the net for Chelsea’s second.
In his Sky Sports commentary from Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Neville said on Raya: ‘It’s getting hot for him. He’s got that look on his face like, “help”.’
But when Arteta was asked about whether Raya was feeling the heat ahead of the Champions League game against Sevilla, the Arsenal manager responded: ‘I haven’t seen that of Raya, I haven’t seen that.
David Raya’s performance away against Chelsea saw him again come under close scrutiny
Gary Neville said the situation was getting ‘too hot’ for Raya after replacing Aaron Ramsdale
Mikel Arteta defended Raya from Neville’s criticism ahead of a Champions League game
‘That’s the pressure of playing for big clubs. You have to win and you have to be at your best and you have someone next to you who is pushing you every single day.
‘But if we were to go position by position, you would tell me ‘what happens with the left-back, what happens with the holding midfielder’. Did you ask Jorginho a question already, Gabriel Jesus there’s another question and that’s the debate.
‘That’s the beauty of the game as well and you find you have other options, you’re going to make those talks more frequently as well. Errors are part of football and mistakes happen, from defenders, from strikers and from goalkeepers.’
Raya has conceded six goals in the seven games he has played since replacing Ramsdale, but he is expected to keep his place for the Champions League game in Spain on Tuesday night.
Ramsdale has made no secret of his frustration at having fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal, not least because he is fearing for his place in England’s squad for next summer’s European Championships.
Ramsdale was asked about the risk of losing his Euros spot, and responded: ‘Yes, of course, it is the first time I have found myself in this situation.
Ramsdale (left) is frustrated that losing his Arsenal place could hurt his Euro 2024 chances
Spaniard Raya was caught out by a cross from Mykhailo Mudryk in Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea
‘The manager here [Gareth Southgate] is brilliant, he trusts the players he’s worked with before as we’ve seen in different types of ways – you’ll see Kalvin [Phillips] and Harry [Maguire] haven’t played the most amount of minutes but when they step up for England and are given the opportunity, they perform.
‘So if if that’s the case for myself and I do get shown that trust to play another game if I haven’t played for my club then I will have to repay him.
‘But of course, I want to get back into my club team. I want to get into my club team and be able to give the manager a headache rather than just have Jordan [Pickford] as the England number one and me fall by the wayside.’
Following the Sevilla trip, Arsenal host Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday before travelling to West Ham in the League Cup next Wednesday.
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