Thierry Henry's brutal reaction to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal tactic speaks volumes

25 October 2023 , 18:57

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Thierry Henry's brutal reaction to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal tactic speaks volumes

Thierry Henry has hinted that David Raya doesn't fill him with confidence after admitting he was "scared" by the Arsenal goalkeeper in the 2-1 win over Sevilla.

Raya, 28, joined the Gunners on loan from Brentford in the summer to compete with Aaron Ramsdale for the No.1 jersey. However, Mikel Arteta's desire to start the season with two first-choice goalkeepers has been heavily criticised by fans and pundits alike.

After starting the season behind Ramsdale, Raya has leapfrogged the England goalkeeper in the pecking order in recent weeks, but his performances have been scrutinised. After looking nervy in a huge match against Manchester City prior to the international break, Raya produced another uninspiring display against Chelsea and looked shaky again against Sevilla on Tuesday night.

With Arsenal facing a barrage of pressure, Raya came dangerously close to punching one cross into his own net - a moment that left Henry fearing the worst. Analysing for CBS Sports, Henry was fairly brutal when discussing the incident, saying: "Is it a save? I mean, I stopped breathing for a little while.

"That’s how it was in the last five, six minutes which I can understand away from home, we talked about it off air that it’s a tough place to go and win or play Sevilla. I just thought at times we were inviting too many crosses and when I saw Raya coming to save that I got a bit scared but we got our luck this time, we got lucky."

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Henry's admission over Raya comes just days after the shot-stopper was questioned once again by Gary Neville, who has been vocal over Arteta's tactic of having two first-choice goalkeepers.

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Thierry Henry was "scared" by David Raya during Arsenal's win against Sevilla (Getty Images)

As well as questioning Raya's confidence levels during the draw against Chelsea, Neville made it clear that Arteta was to blame for the current uncertainty surrounding Arsenal's goalkeepers. Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: "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.

"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 exists because now, there is going to be pressure.

"Aaron Ramsdale hadn't done a lot wrong at the start of the season. Raya has now started to make mistakes."

Dan Marsh