Thierry Henry highlights Ramsdale’s mistakes after Raya’s display vs Luton
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry spoke in support of goalkeeper David Raya following the club’s late 4-3 win over Luton Town in the Premier League last night.
The Gunners picked up a sixth-straight win in all competitions at Kenilworth Road. They had to dig deep for the victory with the hosts scoring thrice in the game.
The north London giants eventually came on top with a 4-3 victory. Declan Rice scored the winner in the final seconds of the game with a leaping header from a Martin Odegaard cross.
The victory has taken the Gunners five points clear at the top of the table but there is much to debate after another inconsistent showing from Raya between the sticks.
The Spaniard’s poor handling from a corner saw Luton equalise in the second half. Few minutes later, his poor shot-stopping allowed Ross Barkley to put the Hatters into the lead.
His blushes were saved after goals from Havertz and Rice, but questions are bound to be raised over his starting spot ahead of the weekend’s game at Aston Villa.
When questioned over Raya on Amazon Prime, Henry took a different view and said that Ramsdale also made two mistakes versus Brentford and didn’t get punished.
He said (via BBC Sport): “I’m going to play the Devil’s advocate. In the Brentford game, Ramsdale made two mistakes and didn’t get punished.”
Arteta has big decision to make over goalkeeping role
Ramsdale was the undisputed starter in the Premier League for the Gunners for two seasons before he was displaced by Raya in September this year.
Raya has since had a mixed bag of performances. The Spaniard has been error-prone on multiple occasions and he could have easily cost the game last night.
The Gunners got out of jail after a dramatic late winner. Manager Mikel Arteta refused to speak on Raya after the game, but questions will be asked going forward.
As Henry said, Ramsdale was not better either at Brentford. Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko made goalline clearances to help the 25-year-old during the London derby.
Arsenal travel to Aston Villa for Saturday’s game. In our opinion, Raya could start again in goal, but Arteta could surprise us by giving Ramsdale the nod instead.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
