Mikel Arteta's Gunners put down a marker as they go in pursuit of the Premier League title as they beat the reigning champions thanks to a deflected strike from Gabriel Martinelli last weekend, but summer arrival Raya was not at his best.
Arsenal latest news - David Raya
Arsenal chief Arteta leaped to Raya's defence when he was interviewed by Sky Sports, via the Mirror, after he came in for criticism for his performance against Manchester City.
The Spanish tactician insisted the goalkeeper, whose £3million loan move from Brentford can be turned into a permanent agreement for £27million at the end of the campaign, played with courage as he kept a clean sheet against Pep Guardiola's side.
But Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville claimed Raya was 'all over the place' and 'really shaky' during the early exchanges of the Premier League contest, which saw fellow summer arrival Declan Rice clear a Josko Gvardiol effort off the line when the Arsenal shot-stopper was caught in no man's land as he attempted to gather a cross.
The 28-year-old has now gone into the international break having started each of the Gunners' last four top flight fixtures, along with both Champions League group stage clashes against PSV Eindhoven, after leapfrogging fellow goalkeeper Ramsdale in the pecking order.Although Arteta revealed he will rotate his goalkeepers if they are not performing at their best, with him even being willing to make in-game alterations after previously refusing to do so when the man between the sticks has struggled, he showed no signs of considering hauling Raya off last weekend.
Respected journalist Paul Brown recently told GIVEMESPORT that the north Londoners' boss was not genuine when he made those remarks, insisting that the former Blackburn Rovers man will remain the trusted figure between the posts instead of Ramsdale.
David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale's statistical averages per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season
David Raya
Aaron Ramsdale
Goals against
0.50
1.00
Saves
1.25
1.25
Save percentage
71.4
55.6
Clean sheet percentage
75.0
25.0
Passes completed
36.3
23.8
All statistics according to FBref
Arteta would drop Ramsdale if he performed like Raya vs Man City - Dean Jones
Jones believes Arteta would not have hesitated in dropping Ramsdale from the starting line-up if he had made the number of errors Raya did during the narrow win over Manchester City.
The reputable reporter feels the decision to leave the Brentford loanee on the pitch emphasised that he is Arsenal's first-choice custodian.
When asked for his views on Raya's performance against Manchester City, Jones told GIVEMESPORT:
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