Jamie Redknapp hailed David Raya as ‘definitely’ the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and ‘maybe’ the best in the world after Arsenal’s crucial victory over West Ham.
Arsenal are within touching distance of the Premier League title after a dramatic 1-0 win over London rivals West Ham on Sunday.
It looked as though Mikel Arteta’s side would drop vital points in the title race and hand the initiative back to Manchester City as they were held by relegation-battlers West Ham for over 80 minutes at the London Stadium.
Arsenal could even have been behind going into the final period but had goalkeeper Raya to thank after he denied Mateus Fernandes from point-blank range.
The Gunners then finally broke West Ham’s resistance, Leandro Trossard firing home from Martin Odegaard’s pass to spark wild scenes in the away end.
More drama was to follow, however, as West Ham thought they had scored an injury-time equaliser through Callum Wilson from a late corner.
But the goal was ruled out following a lengthy VAR check meaning Arsenal moved even closer to a first Premier League title since 2004 and West Ham sunk closer to relegation.
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Redknapp described Raya’s earlier save to deny Fernandes as ‘unbelievable’ and says Arteta ‘deserves credit’ for sanctioning Arsenal’s move for the Spaniard back in 2023.
Raya has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world since joining Arsenal from Brentford three years ago, winning three successive Golden Glove awards in the Premier League.
The 30-year-old has kept an impressive 18 clean sheets in 36 league games this season, meaning he has clinched another Golden Glove award with two games to spare.
Only three other goalkeepers in the Premier League era have claimed the award in three consecutive seasons: Liverpool’s Pepe Reina and Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Ederson.
‘When you think back, this is where the manager deserves credit because when David Raya first come, I wasn’t sure about that decision,’ Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
‘Arsenal already had a good goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale. I was thinking, “why are you making that change?”
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‘But this season Raya has shown he’s definitely the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and maybe the best goalkeeper in the world.
‘It is an unbelievable save in the moment. You have to give the goalkeeper credit. He stands up and then he flicks out his right foot. It is an unbelievable save.’
Arteta, meanwhile, described Raya’s save as ‘incredible’ and said it was the kind of ‘magic moment’ needed to potentially win the title.
‘When you talk about magic moments, this is certainly one of the most needed moments as well to pull off with that save,’ he said. ‘It was incredible.’
Arsenal conclude what they hope will be a victorious Premier League campaign with a home game against already-relegated Burnley and a trip to Crystal Palace.
Arteta’s side then face holders PSG in their first Champions League final since 2006, aiming to complete a historic double.
Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals while Luis Enrique’s PSG continued their title defence with a narrow win over Bayern Munich.
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