Jamie Carragher hailed David Raya as ‘one of the best pieces that Arsenal have done’ following the side’s 2-0 victory over Olympiakos in the Champions League.
The Gunners maintained their winning start in this year’s competition thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka at either end of the contest.
There were some nervous moments for Arsenal, though, and the hosts were forced to rely on Raya’s stunning save to deny Daniel Podence in the 20th minute to ensure they came away from the Emirates with a clean sheet.
Francisco Chiquinho also had a goal disallowed for offside as the visitors piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser before Saka struck in the second minute of stoppage time to bed the tie to bed.
The north Londoners have now notched up six clean sheets in all competitions this season and Raya once again won plenty of plaudits after another assured showing between the sticks.
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Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have, at times, stolen the limelight with their performances at centre-back over the last three years, but Carragher believes Raya has been just as central to the club’s defensive solidity under Mikel Arteta.
According to Carragher, Raya as proven to be a major ‘upgrade’ on Aaron Ramsdale, despite some initial skepticism over the Spaniard’s arrival back in 2023.
‘The Raya save…. listen, I think he’s a brilliant goalkeeper,’ the ex-Liverpool and England defender said on CBS Sports following Arsenal’s win.
‘This is one of the best pieces of business that Arsenal have done.
‘He’s a real upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale. David Raya, for me, it’s between him and Alisson in the Premier League for the best goalkeeper.
‘He’s certainly one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that’s why he keeps so many clean sheets.’
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Arteta was delighted to get another three points on the board in the Champions League, but felt Raya got his side out of trouble with his outstanding save during a sticky patch in the first half.
‘I’m very happy obviously with the win and the clean sheet, because we predicted a really tough opponent,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters at his post-match press conference.
‘I think we started the game very, very good. Scored the goal, had some big chances but in the Champions League you have to put them away. After we began to a suffer a bit, the game became a little bit open.
‘We needed a big save from David in one action to keep the clean sheet. But overall, after playing just three days ago, and the way we had to play at Newcastle, credit to the boys for the way we performed.’
The Gunners looked to their strength on the bench in the second half – and Arteta believes the players that were introduced ‘brought another dimension’ when Olympiakos were still a threat.
Asked if his squad were thriving as a result of greater strength in depth, he replied: ‘They are. They know that they have a chance to play, to maybe make six changes and I want everybody to be a big part of that.
‘The players came in as well to help the team when we were still lacking a bit of rhythm and needed to re-energise. Declan [Rice] comes in, Ebz [Eze], Bukayo, [Cristhian] Mosquera, Jurrien [Timber]… anybody that comes in and brings another dimension to the team. It’s great to see.’