Arsenal star delivers “one of the best you’ll see all season” | OneFootball

Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer believes David Raya’s save against Brighton and Hove Albion was one of the best of the season, and he wasn’t the only one to praise the stop.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Arsenal came away with a 2-1 win from Saturday’s game at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, but the away side almost grabbed a comeback draw as Yankuba Minteh curled a shot towards goal late in the match.

Thankfully, David Raya tipped the ball narrowly over the bar, in one of his best saves of the campaign so far.

Alan Shearer went one further for BBC’s Match of the Day, suggesting it wasn’t just one of Raya’s best, but “one of the best you’ll see all season”, from any player.

“One of, if not the save of the season,” Shearer added. “This is an unbelievable save. Wow! That’s all you can say. You can see [Fabian] Hurzeler and his reaction on the touchline. Unbelievable save that is, it really is magnificent.”

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was very complimentary about the save, saying: “It was sensational. I had a great angle on it. That’s what we need from players, we need those performances in the key moments.”

Even former Spurs player Andy Reid was impressed, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “You see all the Arsenal players would have gone straight to Raya to thank him for it because it was a big save at such an important stage of the game.”

The save is available to watch here or below from the timestamp 2:28.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Despite leading the Premier League in clean sheets once again this season, Raya has sometimes been criticised for not having a bigger role in Arsenal’s strong defensive showings. The suggestion is that the Gunners’ back four are so good that the goalkeeper rarely has much to do.

That’s always been an unfair accusation, with Raya’s work claiming crosses, sweeping up long balls, and impressively distributing passes to teammates all just as valuable to the team as the fact he’s a good shot-stopper.

But for those supporters unable to judge a goalkeeper on anything other than saves, Saturday’s stop was a reminder of how the 30-year-old can compete with the best on that front too.