Gary Neville singled out one Arsenal player for a ‘terrible’ part of their game during their 0-0 draw against Manchester City, saying they ‘kept falling over’.
A gritty performance by the Gunners ensured that they got a point from their trip to the Etihad on Sunday, but it has left both sides trailing Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title after the Reds beat Brighton earlier in the day.
However, one particular first-half showing among Mikel Arteta‘s men caught Neville’s eye for all the wrong reasons.
The former Man United and England defender was concerned about goalkeeper David Raya in the opening 45 minutes, particularly with his feet.
Neville told Sky Sports: ‘Raya’s kicking has been terrible. It’s not helping him that he keeps falling over as he kicks it.
Gary Neville singled out one Arsenal player for a ‘terrible’ performance against Man City
David Raya’s first-half kicking drew the attention of Neville, and not in a positive manner
‘It’s been a strange first half. Neither manager will be happy with their quality on the ball. Maybe they are waiting for the other to make a mistake.’
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel noted to the BBC that the crowd were ‘very unhappy’ with Raya, by jeering and booing the Arsenal No. 1, but added ‘they think he’s wasting time’.
Mail Sport’s Jack Gaughan gave Raya a match rating of 5.5, saying: ‘A few hairy moments, including one dropped cross, and may have started the build-up better.’
Raya came into Arsenal’s set-up from Brentford at the start of the campaign, and usurped Aaron Ramsdale as the first-choice shot-stopper for the Gunners.
The Spanish goalkeeper has stopped 14.9 per cent of crosses into the box during Premier League fixtures this season, far above the division’s average of 6.7 per cent.
Raya came into Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal set-up at the start of the campaign and became No. 1
Newcastle have reignited their interest in Aaron Ramsdale after losing his place to Raya
His aerial dominance has been key to Arsenal having the best defensive record in the league, with only 24 goals conceded, and the highest amount of goals scored with 70.
Ramsdale is keen to play regular Premier League football again after being reduced to an understudy role following the arrival of Raya, and Newcastle United have rekindled their interest in the England international.
Arsenal are now two points behind the leaders Liverpool with nine games left to play, starting with a home game against Luton on Wednesday night.
At the weekend, they travel to Brighton, before hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League the following Tuesday.
