Alan Shearer raises concerns over Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya following Man City win

Arsenal secured a huge 1-0 win over title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, and Alan Shearer has raised concerns over Gunners goalkeeper David Raya following the game.

Raya, who moved to the Emirates this summer on a £3m loan deal from Brighton with the option to make it a permanent deal for an extra £27m at the end of the season, recently replaced Aaron Ramsdale as the club’s No.1 goalkeeper.

The Spaniard made a costly error as Arsenal lost to RC Lens in the Champions League last week and in the first-half against City, he nearly handed Pep Guardiola’s side the lead on two occasions.

Shearer’s Concerns

Speaking on the The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer said: ‘The only one I thought was shaky at times was obviously the goalkeeper. There were times he got caught on the ball that I was thinking, ‘What on earth is happening here?”

Shearer also lauded Arsenal duo Declan Rice and William Saliba, feeling that the north Londoners were ‘superb in every department defensively’.

‘[Rice] made a couple of great tackles,’ Shearer added. ‘He, without doubt, is loving his football and he needs to keep doing that if Arsenal are to win the league. Rice protected the back four when Man City got through.’

Shearer’s Praise for Arsenal

Meanwhile, speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer said: ‘[Arsenal] stopped Man City playing. Even when they got into forward positions, because every single player knew their job.

‘They pressed from the front when they had to, they were committing bodies forward and forcing them into errors. So the forwards were doing their job.

‘Defensively, one-vs-one, they were not afraid to do that. Man City had one shot on target. Rice was very impressive again and of course he had that clearance off the line.’

‘With Saliba… How many times have you seen Erling Haaland go shoulder-to-shoulder with a defender and barge him off? Saliba was having none of it!

‘Haaland barely had a kick. Man City lacked width and that suited Arsenal at times. They tried to change it with Jeremy Doku but there was no way through.

‘You can see what it means to Arsenal. They kept the clean sheet because they were superb in every department defensively.’

Conclusion

Arsenal’s win over Manchester City was a huge statement of intent from Mikel Arteta’s side, and Alan Shearer has praised their defensive performance while raising concerns over goalkeeper David Raya.

Raya has been inconsistent since joining Arsenal this summer, and Shearer believes he needs to improve if Arsenal are to challenge for the title this season.

Declan Rice and William Saliba were both praised by Shearer for their performances against City, and if they can continue to perform at this level then Arsenal could be in for a successful season.