David Raya blunder 'part of football' - Arteta

 Arsenal looked on course for a comfortable win over Tottenham after going in at half-time three goals up, but in the end the Gunners had to defend tooth and nail to prevent a Spurs equaliser that would have collapsed their Premier League title bid. 

It was a blunder by Gunners goalkeeper David Raya that gave the home side hope in the second half, before Heung-Min Son cut the deficit further from the penalty spot. It was Romero who reduced the deficit in the 64th minute, seizing on Raya's comically bad pass to fire home from the edge of the area.

In the end, the Emirates Stadium side took all three points and a happy Arteta was quick to defend his goalkeeper, saying that such mistakes are "part of football", vindicating his full confidence in the former Brentford keeper.

"The penalty is another principle inside the box that you cannot do. It’s part of football. What I love is that David does that [the mistake], he picks Gabriel Magalhaes up – that is quite heavy! – and then he was sensational in the last 20 to 25 minutes of the game," he told reporters.

"We are lucky to have the ‘keeper that we have because he made an individual error, but afterwards, the way he played was outstanding," concluded the Spanish manager.

 

April 28, 2024