Sport

David Raya’s save against West Ham could be Arsenal’s Sergio Aguero moment in this season’s title race

Every title race has one defining moment. Federico Macheda’s winner for Manchester United against Aston Villa. Vincent Kompany’s strike for Manchester City against Leicester City. And of course, Sergio Aguero’s iconic winner that gave City their first Premier League title and made Martin Tyler synonymous with the most dramatic title finale in English football history.

 

If Arsenal get over the line in this season’s title race, David Raya’s save against West Ham on Sunday might well be looked back on as that defining moment. Leandro Trossard might have struck the winner for the visitors to the London Stadium, but it was the Spanish goalkeeper’s save that swung the match.

 

Matheus Fernandes looked all but certain to find the back of the net. The Portuguese international was played into space inside the penalty area, giving West Ham their clearest opportunity of the whole match. Some West Ham supporters were already starting to celebrate an important goal in their team’s efforts to avoid relegation.

 

Raya, however, stood up as long as possible and anticipated Fernandes’ shot from close-range, sticking out a leg to make the block and prevent the ball from finding the back of the net. It was the sort of save the Arsenal goalkeeper has become renowned for over the last few seasons.

 

When Arsenal signed Raya from Brentford, the wisdom of the transfer was questioned. The Gunners already had a good starting goalkeeper in the shape of Aaron Ramsdale. It wasn’t immediately clear that Raya was an upgrade on Ramsdale and if he was, other areas of the squad were in greater need of strengthening.

 

Over time, though, Raya grew into arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. The 30-year-old is a modern number one in the way he can play out from the back with his feet, but also proven as a quality shot-stopper. The match-winning save against West Ham on Sunday was proof of this.

 

Several players could be highlighted as difference-makers in this current Arsenal side. Declan Rice is currently one of the best central midfielders in the world while Bukayo Saka is capable of producing something out of nothing on the right wing. The pair are crucially important to Mikel Arteta’s team.

 

In central defence, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are the foundation upon which Arteta has built his team. The pair have forged the strongest defensive partnership in the English top division, keeping things tight at the back and also giving the Gunners attacking threat from set pieces.

 

Raya also deserves to be mentioned in this contingent of key figures. He has proved his doubters wrong and is getting better and better as someone capable of deciding a match for an Arsenal team chasing the Premier League title. He is a worthy successor to the likes of David Seaman and Jens Lehmann.

 

“When you talk about magic moments, this is certainly one of the most needed moments as well to pull off with that save. He was incredible,” said Arteta when asked about the save made by Raya and his overall performance in the critical 1-0 win over West Ham which put Arsenal within two wins of the title.

 

Arteta has led Arsenal to the brink of their greatest-ever season as a club. Not only are the Gunners within touching distance of winning the Premier League for the first time since the Arsene Wenger era, they will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final later this month.

 

While he has faced criticism at points, Arteta’s process has led them to this point and Raya has been part of that process. His save in the win over West Ham at the London Stadium might have been Arsenal’s Aguero moment in a title race that could completely change the landscape in North London.