David Raya credited the influence of Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana after his incredible double save earned a point for the Gunners against Atalanta.
After a dull first period, Mikel Arteta’s side faced an early second-half concession when referee Clement Turpin awarded the home side a penalty following a challenge from Thomas Partey on Ederson.
Replays largely backed up the French official’s on-field decision but that did not stop a lengthy VAR review, which Raya used to his advantage by conversing with the Gunners’ goalkeeping coach.
When play resumed, the Spanish stopper smartly saved Mateo Retegui’s effort before incredibly bouncing back up to claw the Italian striker’s rebound away from the goal line.
Raya, who made his loan move to the north London club permanent this summer, revealed that his discussion with Cana played a part in his heroics.
David Raya was seen in conversation with Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana (left) before his penalty save
The Spaniard first denied Mateo Retegui from the spot. He then responded quickly to divert the resulting header from the goal line
‘It was just a penalty and I was lucky to go the right way and save it,’ Raya told TNT Sports post-match. ‘I was unlucky to get the rebound straight to him but I was just quick enough to get up and save the rebound.
‘It’s fantastic to be able to keep the clean sheet to help the team at least get a point.’
On his decision to go to the bench during the pause in play, he added: ‘I took the decision to go to the sideline because there was a long wait so I just spoke with the goalkeeping coach to get more certain about where to go.
‘He helped me a lot in every aspect so all credit to him as well. He does the all the work with everything so credit to him as well for the save.’
Raya’s efforts were celebrated by his team-mates 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 allowed the Gunners to leave Bergamo with a point to show for their duel with the Europa League champions. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side proved to be a tough nut for Arsenal to crack, although they did squander a couple of guilt-edge opportunities in the game.
‘It wasn’t the nicest to watch because everyone becomes a man-to-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 swamped 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 gave a lot of balls away very simply and we could not get any rhythm or momentum, without conceding anything apart from that penalty.’
Arteta will hope his team can maintain their outstanding defensive record – which they extended to four clean sheets in their first five games – in their next outing against Manchester City.
The side travel to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon in what could be a defining clash in the Premier League campaign.
