Following Mikel Arteta’s error in last weekend’s loss at Newcastle, Paul Merson has accused David Raya, the goalkeeper for Arsenal, of selling the player “up the river.”
Given that the summer transfer from Brentford replaced Aaron Ramsdale, Arteta’s choice has come under scrutiny in the past week due to the Spaniard’s string of high-profile mistakes.
Last Saturday, Raya committed another error when he failed to save Joe Willock’s cross, which resulted in Anthony Gordon’s very contentious victory.
After the game, Arteta became quite irate, saying it was humiliating that a goal that had undergone three different VAR reviews was still upheld.
Arsenal later supported their boss by critiquing the match officials in a sharply written statement, but Merson maintains that all of the drama could have been averted had Raya carried out his duties.
“Mikel Arteta has gone mad at the end of the day because his goalkeeper has sold him up the river,” he said to Sky Sports.The goalkeeper should be able to catch that every day of the week.
When he crosses the ball, he is positioned two yards in front of the front post. On any other day of the week, the goalie emerges, grabs the ball, and passes it to his full-back.It’s unbelievable, it’s just covered over.
“If you watch his positional play, it’s unbelievable. I’m not a goalie, but I played with two of the best you’ll ever see: David Seaman and Peter Schmeichel.”
“It was the middle of the goal; it wasn’t even a great cross.”
