Thomas Frank spotted one ‘mistake’ £27m Arsenal star almost made vs Brentford that could’ve cost the Gunners
Arsenal picked up a well-deserved 3-1 win against Brentford in their first game of 2025.
The Gunners ended last year on a high, winning three games in a row. A trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to kick off the new year was a difficult task, but Mikel Arteta’s men came out on top.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a great win for Arsenal, and Arteta was a happy man after the game.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, on the other hand, was disappointed because he felt that the game could’ve changed completely after one moment in the first half.
Thomas Frank highlights David Raya’s ‘mistake’ during Brentford vs Arsenal
On New Year’s Day, David Raya played against Brentford for the first time since leaving them to join Arsenal.
The Spaniard played 161 games for the Bees during his time there, and despite his departure, he is adored by everyone at the club.
Returning to Brentford following his £27 million (BBC) move last summer must have been emotional for Raya, and the 29-year-old almost suffered a humiliating moment.
In the first half, just 55 seconds before Arsenal’s equaliser, Raya made a meal out of what seemed to be a straightforward save, and the ball was inches away from finding the back of the net.
Thankfully for Arsenal, the Euro 2024 winner managed to recover and pushed the ball away to safety.
In his post-match interview on TNT Sports, Frank highlighted Raya’s error and claimed that the result could’ve been completely different if the Arsenal star had failed to rectify his mistake.
He said: “Overall, I think we did well, it was the finest of margins that we need to do better. We scored a great goal and just before their equaliser, it is like this (gestures it was really close).
“Then (if the ball had gone in), we are 2-0 up, it was a mistake from David (Raya). Small margins, at 2-0, it’s a different game. Anyway, we need to do better on the 1-1 goal.”
READ MORE: Steve Round shares if the signing of David Raya actually forced him to leave Arsenal
David Raya’s stats for Arsenal are exceptional
There was a lot of debate when Arteta decided to make Raya Arsenal’s number one ahead of Aaron Ramsdale in the 2023/24 season.
The Arsenal manager came under enormous criticism – not just from the pundits and media but from his own fans as well.
However, Arteta’s decision has been proven right.
As the table shows above, Raya keeps a clean sheet almost every other game for Arsenal. He also concedes an average of just around 0.7 goals a game.
That is a phenomenal return for any goalkeeper, and to add to that, the Spain international pulls off a few incredible saves from time to time as well.
Raya has been one of Arsenal’s best players this season. Without him, the Gunners would be in a worse position in the table.
