Arsenal held on to secure a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby, but it was a tense ending.
The Gunners raced into a 3-0 lead by half time, but found themselves clinging on at the end after conceding two soft goals.
Goalkeeper David Raya gifted Cristian Romero the chance to pull one back after a horrific error with the ball, and Declan Rice gave away a penalty after a mistimed challenge in the box.
Raya’s error was his first in a while, but arguably his worst of the season which could have proved costly. However, he has now been praised by Arsenal goalkeeping legend David Seaman for the way he reacted to the mistake.
David Seaman praises David Raya after mistake in Arsenal win over Tottenham
Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, the former Arsenal number one claimed that the way Raya responded to adversity deserves praise after his poor error in such a crucial game.
“[I was nervous] for the last 20 minutes after Raya messed up with the back pass. It was a double mistake but I’ve got to give him credit because as much as that put a load of pressure on the team when we were coasting, if I’m honest, his performance after the mistake was really good,” he stated.
“His reaction was great because he came out for every cross, he was solid at the back still, and it’s a good sign in ‘keepers when they make a mistake, especially like that where you know the fans are up and at it again because they’re thinking they can get back in it.
“The way he reacted was brilliant and it just shows you that he is a quality goalkeeper. He didn’t have a great deal to do save-wise, but when he made that mistake it was a test and he passed it with flying colours.”
David Raya performed well despite error in Arsenal win at Spurs
After his error, Arsenal found themselves under pressure as Tottenham pushed forward to try and find an equaliser, and they resorted to floating in crosses in the closing stages.
However, in a situation where Raya could have folded under pressure and lost confidence, he stood tall andplucked the ball out of the sky on several occasions.
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Raya showcased his outstanding aerial ability to help secure the win for Arsenal, with his aggressive positioning helping him prevent any Spurs chances from materialising from their high balls.
The Spaniard has overall been a strong addition for Arsenal after a slow start, and despite his unlucky error, he showed why Mikel Arteta was so keen to bring in a goalkeeper with his ball playing and aerial abilities.
