Arsenal kicked off their European marketing campaign final night time, and whereas it is all the time thrilling to observe your crew play on the continent, we would not be shocked if a couple of Gooners fell asleep earlier than the 90 minutes have been up.
Now, some extent away from house isn’t a nasty factor within the Champions League, and Mikel Arteta’s facet wasn’t poor both, however with little or no attacking soccer on show, it is not a recreation that may go down as a basic.
That stated, if all else in regards to the encounter is finally forgotten, David Raya’s sensational double save will not be, and in what’s a slight silver lining to an underwhelming 90 minutes for the supervisor, the keeper wasn’t the one Arsenal participant who additional cemented his place within the facet.
Raya is making himself undroppable
So, after the fixed backwards and forwards about his place within the crew final 12 months and speak of a potential rivalry with Aaron Ramsdale, Raya has now firmly established himself as Arsenal’s primary, and the questions over his means have all however disappeared.
The Spaniard gained the Golden Glove on the finish of final season and has began this season like a home on fireplace, together with his performances towards Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, and now Atalanta as the actual stand-outs.
There wasn’t really all that a lot for the 29-year-old to do final night time, however when he was known as into motion for the penalty halfway by way of the second half, he continued his excellent kind with a sensational double save.
Now, had he simply stopped the preliminary effort, that will’ve been spectacular sufficient, however it’s the velocity at which he will get again to his ft to cease the follow-up that makes it such an outrageous piece of ability and led to Robbie Savage describing it as “top-of-the-line saves I’ve ever seen.”
Unsurprisingly, the previous Brentford ace was handed the Participant of the Match award at full-time, and the Solar’s Joshua Jones awarded him a 9/10 on the night time, which appears completely justified.
General, Raya retains proving Arteta proper this season, and whereas he is made himself totally undroppable, certainly one of his teammates from final night time’s match is on his method to doing the identical.
Jurrien Timber’s latest kind
Sure, the participant in query is Dutch defender Jurrien Timber.
The previous Ajax star joined Arsenal final summer time, however an ACL harm within the opening recreation of the season noticed him miss all the marketing campaign. Whereas there was some concern that he would not be the identical participant upon his return, his begin this 12 months has put these considerations to relaxation.
The 23-year-old has featured in all 5 video games up to now – beginning 4 – and already appears to be on the identical degree as his unbelievable teammates, together with his efficiency towards Tottenham Hotspur final week maybe his finest up to now.
Nevertheless, whereas he wasn’t as spectacular as his teammate between the sticks, the “elite” full-back, as analyst Ben Mattonson dubbed him, additionally performed nicely final night time, incomes a 7/10 from Jones, who wrote that he ‘provides an additional dimension to this Arsenal facet’ which is tough to disclaim.
Furthermore, the Utrecht-born dynamo’s statistics from the sport assist to focus on his sturdy show. In his 73 minutes of motion, he made two clearances, blocked one shot, gained 4 of 5 duels, misplaced the ball simply six occasions, gained two fouls, took 49 touches, maintained a passing accuracy of 93%, and succeeded in 100% of his dribbles.
In the end, whereas Arsenal’s attacking gamers flattered to deceive final night time, Raya continued to indicate the world why he is among the finest goalkeepers in England, and Timber additional established himself as an undroppable participant in Arteta’s squad.
