2 weeks Ago By The Straits Times
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya making a double save from a penalty in the Champions League match against Atalanta. BERGAMO – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed his goalkeeper David Raya after the Spaniard’s miraculous double save earned his side a 0-0 draw away to Atalanta in the Champions League on Sept 19. But for Raya saving Mateo Retegui’s 51st-minute penalty and then somehow springing across his goal to claw out the same player’s headed rebound effort, the Gunners could have begun their campaign with a damaging defeat.
“I witnessed two of the best saves I’ve ever seen in my career from David in that moment,” Arteta said. “If you can’t win, you have to take the point. We started well, then we lost control and were very inconsistent.
We didn’t suffer defensively, apart from the penalty.” Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini was equally in awe. “He’s a cat.
The first save is good but the rebound is unbelievable. The goalkeeper has been crucial,” the Italian said. Raya was modest about his effort, saying he had been lucky and also paid tribute to Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana whom he consulted while VAR (video assistant referee) checked the penalty decision.
“It was a long time to decide if it was a penalty so I took the decision to go to the side and I went to speak with the goalie coach about where to go and where not to go,” he said. “He helped me a lot in every aspect so credit to him.” While it was a decent start by Arsenal, Arteta was less happy with his team’s performance as they offered little in the way of attacking threat against last season’s Europa League winners.
“We had moments with the ball but we never got it into dominance or threat,” he added. “The first 25 minutes we read their approach really good. After that we lost control of the game.
” In another match, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick is not worried about his side’s display despite a 2-1 defeat by Monaco. Monaco made the most of their man advantage after Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was sent off only 11 minutes in, before goals from Maghnes Akliouche and George Ilenikhena secured the triumph over the Catalans. Flick, who has led Barcelona to a five-match winning run in the Spanish La Liga, remained positive after his first defeat in charge and urged his players to look forward to the games to come.
“With (Garcia’s) red card the game changed totally but I can see the positives. We tried to defend as a team and attack as a team. We had chances but they deserved to win,” he said.
“I have told the team to lift their heads up because they are disappointed...
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