David Raya has become the first goalkeeper this season to win the Premier League’s Player of the Matchweek award, following his heroics against West Ham United.
The Premier League have confirmed that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has been voted the Player of the Matchweek for the latest round of fixtures, following his big save to deny Mateus Fernandes at 0-0 against West Ham United.
Raya also made a brave decision to come and claim a late corner in the match, which was ultimately validated as he was fouled and VAR disallowed the Hammers’ late equaliser.
Raya ended up receiving 55% of the fan vote, with his closest challenger only getting 20%.
As David Seaman pointed out later, Raya could have elected to punch instead, and a foul may not have been given if he did. His bold attempt to catch was what led to the foul and Arsenal keeping a vital clean sheet to win the match.
Raya was also one of three players named by Troy Deeney in his BBC Team of the Week, along with Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Deeney claimed Raya’s stop from Fernandes was the “save of the season”, adding that it “wins Arsenal the title”.
The striker added that he included Gabriel for his “massive blocks” at “massive moments”, before explaining that Lewis-Skelly deserved a spot for his versatility to play in two different positions.
“He started in midfield, then Arsenal changed mid-game and moved him to left-back, and he didn’t put a foot wrong,” Deeney wrote. “He was fantastic. One of the players in the last three to four weeks that has really stepped up.”
The Arsenal players won’t care much about individual awards right now, with the chance to win the Premier League and/or the Champions League over the next two-and-a-half weeks of football. But it’s still nice to see some recognition for the best performers at the weekend.
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