Gary Neville revises opinion on David Raya and Arsenal after victory over Manchester City
Gary Neville has backtracked on his criticisms of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and the Arsenal as a whole, following their decisive win against Manchester City.
The victory propelled Arsenal to second place in the Premier League, laying to rest earlier questions about their competitiveness and resilience.
Gabriel Martinelli netted the decisive goal for the Gunners, with the ball taking a deflection off Manchester City’s Nathan Ake. The win was Arsenal’s first over Pep Guardiola’s side under the management of Mikel Arteta.
The victory was, however, not without its tense moments. David Raya, who had a shaky start, found himself the target of Gary Neville’s scrutiny.
During the match, Neville was notably critical of Raya’s performance. He stated: “He’s just a bit jittery Raya. He’s not seeing things as clearly as Arsenal fans would like. I can spot a keeper a mile off that’s a nervous wreck and there’s one right in front of you. The mistake in midweek he’s carried into this game, he’s not sharp enough and he’s very lucky.”
Despite these comments, Neville had a change of heart by the end of the game. Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said: “I was worried about the goalkeeper in the first half – he averted a crisis there.
“If he concedes a goal in the first half through one of those moments of anxiety, honestly you have seen it go like that. He had to get through that game and he did, otherwise that could have been a big problem.”
While the former Manchester United player applauded Raya for his comeback, he also acknowledged Arsenal’s landmark achievement. Neville had previously labelled Arsenal as lacking “toughness, strength or power,” a notion he was willing to revise.
He added: “We’ve called them bottle merchants on here for 10 – 12 years. For a long time now we have said Arsenal always go missing and they don’t have that toughness, strength or power.
“But today is a big moment because in a game where they were not at their best, which was a massive struggle against the very best team, they came through it and got over the line. That is very important. They don’t ordinarily get over the line in these big games, but they have today.”