Arsenal boss Arteta responds to Neville's warning over struggling Raya
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has downplayed Gary Neville 's concerns over the recent performances of David Raya.
Raya has made a series of errors since replacing Aaron Ramsdale as the Gunners' first-choice keeper and endured a dreadful evening in the draw with Chelsea. He allowed Mykhaylo Mudryk's effort to float over him and into the net for the Blues' second goal.
After the game, Neville spoke of his concern that Raya is not coping well with the pressure that comes with playing for a big club. But ahead of his side's trip to Sevilla, Arteta has leapt to the defence of his embattled keeper.
"I haven't seen that of Raya, I haven't seen that," he said when asked if Raya was feeling the heat. "That's the pressure of playing for big clubs. You have to win and you have to be at your best and you have someone next to you who is pushing you every single day.
"But if we were to go position by position, you would tell me 'what happens with the left-back, what happens with the holding midfielder'. Did you ask Jorginho a question already, Gabriel Jesus there's another question and that's the debate.
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"That's the beauty of the game as well and you find you have other options, you're going to make those talks more frequently as well. Errors are part of football and mistakes happen, from defenders, from strikers and from goalkeepers."
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Mikel Arteta has defended David Raya after a difficult few weeks for the keeper (Getty Images)Raya looks set to keep his place for the trip to Sevilla on Tuesday night, despite his recent struggles. But Neville believes that the Spaniard is already proving that the decision to sign him was a mistake.
"David Raya started his Arsenal career well but then he had a poor Champions League game [against Lens] followed by that first half against Manchester City," Neville told Sky Sports on Saturday. "Now, this game. It's getting hot for him. He's got that look on his face like, 'help'.
"It's the toughest position to play and certainly when you're at one of the biggest clubs in the league, you're under the most amount of scrutiny - particularly if you're a goalkeeper. Mikel Arteta has created that, let's be clear with the Ramsdale and Raya situation.
"It's unusual but he says it can work. I've never believed it could, and I believe we're seeing in front of our eyes the challenges that exist because now, there is going to be pressure. Raya has now started to make mistakes."
Raya has conceded six goals in the seven games he has played since replacing Ramsdale. And Neville believes the Englishman will grow increasingly frustrated if Arteta persists with selecting Raya.
""The problem is he's started to now look nervy and is making mistakes. I do feel there's a problem brewing here where Ramsdale is going to start knocking on the door saying, 'get me back in' and if [Arteta] doesn't, he's going to ask to leave," he told the Gary Neville Podcast.
"So even though it looks like there's competition for places in the goalkeeping positon, it won't last long this. I don't think it can work, and I'm not seeing anything that is telling me it can work. It puts more pressure on the one that's in because he knows the other guy is waiting in the wings."
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