Premier League legend Ian Wright has criticized David Raya for losing concentration against Brentford, saying his mistake could have been disastrous for the Premier League aspirants.
Arsenal claimed a 3-1 win in their Premier League clash against Brentford on New Year’s Day. Against the run of play, Bryan Mbeumo fired the Bees into the lead at the Gtech Community Stadium. He applied a tidy finish to send Mikkel Dasgaard’s through ball into the back of the net in the 13th minute. Mikel Arteta’s side, however, did not lose their cool and quickly regained control.
After 15 nearly uneventful minutes, Brentford gave Arsenal a wake-up call, with Keane Lewis-Potter having a go at Raya’s goal from a long way out. It should have been a routine save for the Spanish goalkeeper as the ball was coming straight at him. However, he was seemingly not ready for the shot, as it went through his hands. Luckily for the visitors, Raya quickly made amends and clawed the ball clear off the goal line.
In the 29th minute, Gabriel Jesus scored the equalizer for Arsenal before Mikel Merino (50′) and Gabriel Martinelli (53′) scored in quick succession to seal a 3-1 win. The victory allowed Arsenal to climb to second place in the Premier League rankings.
Ian Wright Says David Raya’s Mistake Could Have Been Disastrous for Arsenal
Speaking after the game, Arsenal icon Wright criticized Raya’s mishap but also commended him for making amends.
“It’s a lack of concentration from David Raya,” Wright told Premier League Productions (via Football365).
“He does brilliantly to recover. You can see the desperation from him. You can see how close it was. That would have been disastrous, especially with the way Arsenal were dominating.”
Arsenal moved within six points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with the victory on Wednesday. They have, however, played one more game than Arne Slot’s side.
The North London side will return to Premier League action with a clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on 4th January.
