25 October 2023 , 06:25
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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has admitted Gunners goalkeeper David Raya was "lucky" during the 2-1 away win over Sevilla on Tuesday night.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus were enough to hand Mikel Arteta's men all three points and place them top of Group B. A second-half header from Nemanja Gudeji made sure it was a nervy finish, but Arsenal managed to hold on, though it was made even nervier by shot-stopper Raya who very nearly cost his club right at the death.
With Arsenal at this point simply clinging on and waiting for the full-time whistle, the Gunners were coming under serious pressure. Sevilla oped to pump a number of crosses into the penalty area to try and snatch a point and came incredibly close when Raya misjudged the flight of the ball and proceeded to punch the ball backwards by mistake.
Diving too soon, Raya got slightly in front of the cross and punched it in the wrong direction. Thankfully for the Spaniard, he'd put enough contact on it to ensure the ball looped over his own crossbar, but it could have been the most damaging blunder of his Gunners career to date.
After the game, Henry reflected on the performance from his former side and while he was delighted with the win, the Frenchman did concede there were still things Arsenal could work on. "Away from home, there is something called all-around play and that also comes in when you talk about players," he said on CBS Sports Golazo.
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"If you want to compare the game to Man United game, it is way more difficult to play Sevilla away than Copenhagen at home. You have to give Arsenal a lot of credit for winning a game away from home in Europe, especially against Sevilla.
"I thought at the end we invited them a bit too much on our box, allowed them to cross too early. The wingers were playing as almost full-backs. We ended up playing a 6-3-1 at the end which is why they were crossing the ball in because no one was going to put pressure on to stop the crosses."
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David Raya did not have his best night against Sevilla (Jose Luis Contreras/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)It was at this point Henry addressed Raya's wayward punch and admitted: "Raya got lucky, I think we all saw it when he punched the ball and everybody looked at it and the ball went over the crossbar. When you win away from home in Europe, it is always a good result, especially against a team like Sevilla."
So much has been made from fans and pundits alike of Arteta's decision to drop former No.1 goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in favour of Raya, who started brightly but has been guilty of some notable errors during his last few outings.
His performance against Sevilla will do little to quieten the calls for Ramsdale to return. However, Arteta backed Raya passionately before the clash in Spain and is likely to continue to do so, with Sheffield United on Saturday next up.