If Arsenal wins the Premier League 2025-2026, David Raya's save from Yankuba Minteh's shot will appear in the seasonal summary tape of the "Gunners". The moment the Brighton striker launched a curling shot from a favorable distance and put the ball into the top corner, everyone thought about the 2-2 equalizer for the "Seagull". However, Raya jumped as high as possible, using all his strength to push the ball out of the frame.
Immediately after that, Minteh seemed to be stunned because he could not believe his goal had been rejected in that way. The remaining players of both teams were also in shock. Mats Wieffer hugged his head in surprise while Martin Zubimendi ran and hugged his teammate.
This situation is definitely one of the best saves of the season and most importantly it brought 3 points for Arsenal, instead of just 1 point. If Arsenal were held to a draw by Brighton, they would lose the top spot to Man City due to a goal difference loss. In the previous match, The Citizens defeated Nottingham Forest.
In many times this season as well as the previous 2 seasons, every time Arsenal needed a support point in the defense, David Raya always did very well. The 30-year-old Spanish goalkeeper has twice consecutively won the "Golden Glove" title of the Premier League. This season, he is aiming to do that for the 3rd time.
I am very satisfied with the performance of the players today. The collective and individual playing style of the players in many situations has overwhelmed the opponent. Arsenal is clearly a big threat.
The score should have been more different from the number of chances we created throughout the match. However, that was the Premier League. Their first dangerous shot was a goal, but for the 2nd time, David Raya did not let that happen" - Mikel Arteta shared.
Arteta is right when he believes that Arsenal can decide the match early. The Gunners launched 24 shots while Brighton only had 8. Even in the first half, when Arsenal had 5 shots, Brighton still could not shoot a single shot. All advantageous indicators such as expected goals were also on Arsenal's side.
However, it was the waste of opportunities of the strikers that caused Arsenal to fall into a tense state when Brighton narrowed the gap to 1-2. This feeling is similar to the matches against Wolves and Palace before. The Gunners played very well, dominated but did not destroy the opponent and gradually lost the game and were pushed back.
After 3 consecutive seasons in second place, now is the time for Arsenal to be more cautious than ever in each match. Pressure like this will become more and more, increasing in level to challenge Arteta and his students.
Arsenal has won and in this match alone, they owe David Raya a lot. Victories with such a narrow gap are always difficult and erode the players' fitness a lot. Not only that, just one match to lose the advantage, everyone can collapse mentally.
Arsenal's opponents at this time are clearly Manchester City and Aston Villa. In a long-distance tournament, winning matches against small teams is always more important than a one-on-one match with competitors. Arsenal, although very vat va against Wolves, Palace and now Brighton, in the end they still win and accumulate full points.
Man City has won all 5 recent matches, Aston Villa even won 11 consecutive matches, just one stumble, Arsenal will taste the consequences. At least in the confrontation with Brighton, David Raya did not let that happen.
