David Raya credited the influence of Arsenal goalkeeping coach Iñaki Cana after his incredible double save earned the Gunners a point against Atalanta.
After a dull first period, Mikel Arteta’s side were forced to make do with an early second-half concession when referee Clement Turpin awarded the home side a penalty following a foul on Ederson by Thomas Partey.
Replays largely backed up the French on-field referee’s decision but that did not prevent a lengthy VAR review, which Raya used to his advantage by speaking to the Gunners’ goalkeeping coach.
When play resumed, the Spanish goalkeeper smartly saved Mateo Retegui’s shot before incredibly rebounding high to deflect the Italian striker’s rebound away from the goal line.
Raya, who made his loan to the north London club permanent this summer, revealed his fallout with Cana played a part in his heroics.
David Raya was seen chatting to Arsenal goalkeeping coach Iñaki Cana (left) before his penalty save.
The Spaniard first saved Mateo Retegui’s penalty and then responded quickly to deflect the resulting header off the goal line.
“It was just a penalty and I was lucky to go in the right direction and save it,” Raya told TNT Sports after the match. “I was unlucky to pass the rebound straight to him but I was quick enough to get up and save the rebound.
“It’s great to be able to keep a clean sheet and help the team get at least one point.”
On his decision to go to the bench during the break in play, he added: ‘I made the decision to go to the bench because there was a long wait, so I spoke to the goalkeeping coach to be more sure of where to go.
“He helped me a lot in every way, so all the credit goes to him. He does all the work, so I also give him credit for saving me.”
Raya’s efforts were celebrated by his teammates immediately after the incident, after the final whistle and then by his manager Arteta, who described it as “probably one of the best saves I’ve seen in my career”.
The pair of saves saw the Gunners leave Bergamo with a point from their clash with the Europa League champions. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side proved a tough nut to crack for Arsenal, although they did squander a couple of goalscoring opportunities in the game.
“It wasn’t the best to watch because everyone is going man-on-man everywhere,” Arteta told TNT Sports. “We started well and played in the areas we wanted to play, created one or two chances.
The 29-year-old was mobbed by his team-mates immediately after his stunning double save.
Mikel Arteta described the sequence as “probably one of the best saves I’ve seen in my career”
“But after that we lost a lot of balls very easily and we couldn’t get into any rhythm or momentum, without conceding anything apart from that penalty.”
Arteta will hope his side can maintain their excellent defensive record, which they have extended to four clean sheets in their first five games, in their next encounter against Manchester City.
The team travel to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon in what could be a decisive clash in the Premier League campaign.
